Imagine that you’re a new person who’s a little shy about the forum, but has read a large part of the Sequences and really thinks that Eliezer is awesome, and then you make your first post and see that Eliezer himself has downvoted you.
The psychological impact of that downvote would likely be a lot bigger than the impact of what a single downvote should have.
OTOH, making upvotes public would probably be a good change: seeing a list of people who upvoted you feels a lot more motivating to me than just getting an anonymous number.
Imagine that you’re a new person who’s a little shy about the forum, but has read a large part of the Sequences and really thinks that Eliezer is awesome, and then you make your first post and see that Eliezer himself has downvoted you.
The psychological impact of that downvote would likely be a lot bigger than the impact of what a single downvote should have.
OTOH, making upvotes public would probably be a good change: seeing a list of people who upvoted you feels a lot more motivating to me than just getting an anonymous number.