Incivility gets most of the big downvotes, and genuine insight gets the big upvotes, but I’ve noticed that the +1s and −1s tend to reflect compliance with site norms more than skill.
This is worrying, of course, but I’m not equipped to fix it.
If the stated rule for voting is “upvote what you want more of; downvote what you want less of,” and the things that are getting upvoted are site norms and the things that are getting downvoted aren’t, one interpretation is that that the system is working properly: they are site norms precisely because they are the things people want more of, which are therefore getting upvoted.
Incivility gets most of the big downvotes, and genuine insight gets the big upvotes, but I’ve noticed that the +1s and −1s tend to reflect compliance with site norms more than skill.
:P Skill? What is this skill of which you speak?
This is worrying, of course, but I’m not equipped to fix it.
That isn’t my experience. When in the mood to gain popularity +5 comments are easy to spin while bulk +1s take rather a lot of typing. I actually expect that even trying to get +1s I would accidentally get about at least 1/5th as many +5s as +1s.
Edit: I just scanned back through the last few pages of my comments. I definitely haven’t been in a ‘try to appear deep and insightful’ kind of mood and even so more karma came from +5s than +1s. I was surprised because I actually thought my recent comments may have been an exception.
Incivility gets most of the big downvotes, and genuine insight gets the big upvotes, but I’ve noticed that the +1s and −1s tend to reflect compliance with site norms more than skill.
This is worrying, of course, but I’m not equipped to fix it.
If the stated rule for voting is “upvote what you want more of; downvote what you want less of,” and the things that are getting upvoted are site norms and the things that are getting downvoted aren’t, one interpretation is that that the system is working properly: they are site norms precisely because they are the things people want more of, which are therefore getting upvoted.
:P Skill? What is this skill of which you speak?
Ignore it and write comments worth +5. :)
It’s easier to write five yes-man quotes for +1 each than one +5 comment, which seems like a flawed incentive system.
That isn’t my experience. When in the mood to gain popularity +5 comments are easy to spin while bulk +1s take rather a lot of typing. I actually expect that even trying to get +1s I would accidentally get about at least 1/5th as many +5s as +1s.
Edit: I just scanned back through the last few pages of my comments. I definitely haven’t been in a ‘try to appear deep and insightful’ kind of mood and even so more karma came from +5s than +1s. I was surprised because I actually thought my recent comments may have been an exception.
This is what I find, scanning back over my last 20 comments. My last 30 include a +19 so I didn’t even bother.
And of course karma is a flawed incentive system. It’s not meant as an incentive system.
I actually ignored everything that wasn’t exactly a +5 to make the world that much less convenient. :P