I downvote when I feel like a comment doesn't belong to HN, be it quality, insults, etc.
Ask HN: Why Do You Downvote?
11–20 of 101 posts
Re: Ask HN: Why Do You Downvote?
#12I view downvotes as an incomplete feature. If you disagree with some content -- because it is misinformation, or useless, or maybe you just disagree with the argument -- you should be able to explain what's wrong with it. I would much rather have a system where a downvote required a reason, so instead of a downvote it would be more like a comment which can also -1 / 0 / +1 the karma of the parent.
That post that blew up about Apple keeping their 30% cut after a refund was 100% made up. It was, sorry to say, "fake news". But my comment got downvoted. You idiots here on HN would rather read "news" that agrees with your already held opinions, that is why the downvote button is here, so idiots don't have to think too much.
This has provided an opportunity for exercising my seldom used downvote button. How apropos. This comment violates the first guideline on comments:
> Be kind. Don't be snarky. Have curious conversation; don't cross-examine. Comments should get more thoughtful and substantive, not less, as a topic gets more divisive.
Re: Ask HN: Why Do You Downvote?
#13I view downvotes as an incomplete feature. If you disagree with some content -- because it is misinformation, or useless, or maybe you just disagree with the argument -- you should be able to explain what's wrong with it. I would much rather have a system where a downvote required a reason, so instead of a downvote it would be more like a comment which can also -1 / 0 / +1 the karma of the parent.
That post that blew up about Apple keeping their 30% cut after a refund was 100% made up. It was, sorry to say, "fake news". But my comment got downvoted. You idiots here on HN would rather read "news" that agrees with your already held opinions, that is why the downvote button is here, so idiots don't have to think too much.
>You idiots here on HN
>so idiots don't have to think too much
Do you really not understand why you might get down-voted if this is how you address people?
Tone is important. How you address those reading your comment is also important.
Re: Ask HN: Why Do You Downvote?
#14I downvote anything I don't like and I upvote what I do like. Most of the time I'm upvoting someone who already made basically the same comment I was going to make. No point in saying the same thing again in another comment, just upvote. If someone says the opposite of what I was going to say, I downvote.
I never understood people acting like downvoting is some huge crime or being downvoted is some great slight. It's a little arrow on a web site. It makes a number in a database go up or down by 1. I don't care how many points my comments score, and neither should anyone else. Speak your mind, or don't, and move on with life.
Re: Ask HN: Why Do You Downvote?
#15I downvote egregious misinformation, but not honest mistakes. A correction in a comment is more appropriate in those cases. Disagreement and differing opinions do not get downvotes from me - they are part of what makes the discussions interesting. But comments that are actively rude or try to take people down a peg do get my downvote. So do people who clearly are just pushing a personal agenda unrelated to the current discussion. I sometimes try to picture the comments as a real conversation... if you would have said the same thing in a group sitting together real life, would that have been a comment that fit into the conversation? Or would it make the group give you a 'WTF?' look and slowly back away?
At the same time, when I receive downvotes, most of the time they are correct - if I post a comment when I'm in a bad mood, my tone gets snarkier and I get downvoted more often. And that is fair. So I tend to just accept them, move on, and try to be more aware of my communication habits in the future.
Re: Ask HN: Why Do You Downvote?
#16I view downvotes as an incomplete feature. If you disagree with some content -- because it is misinformation, or useless, or maybe you just disagree with the argument -- you should be able to explain what's wrong with it. I would much rather have a system where a downvote required a reason, so instead of a downvote it would be more like a comment which can also -1 / 0 / +1 the karma of the parent.
The downvote button is not a disagree button. If you disagree with something, add your own comment. That's the point of a discussion board.
Downvotes are for comments which are not worthy of a response because they are not honest attempts at discussion.
Re: Ask HN: Why Do You Downvote?
#17I consciously try not to downvote even if I strongly disagree with somebody or have negative emotions about their expression. I downvote if I think a comment is low-value. Examples include:
- Inordinately combative, mocking, sarcastic, or otherwise negatively emotional comments.
- Low value comments likely to provoke or distract.
- Comments complaining about downvotes (e.g. "I'll be downvoted for saying this, but...", or, "Why am I being downvoted? Is it because [I'm right | they're irrational | they have the wrong politics | etc]". There's even an example in this thread! This is essentially self-victimization, underdogging, etc. For the same reason, when I am downvoted, I never comment on it - I just accept that that's how people feel about what I said and try to learn from it rather than be bitter about it.
Re: Ask HN: Why Do You Downvote?
#18I downvote anything I don't like and I upvote what I do like. Most of the time I'm upvoting someone who already made basically the same comment I was going to make. No point in saying the same thing again in another comment, just upvote. If someone says the opposite of what I was going to say, I downvote. I never understood people acting like downvoting is some huge crime or being downvoted is some great slight. It's…
The reason people frown upon the downvote is because we explicitly don't want people using it to express dislike. Rather, we should use it as a way for the community to self-police content that is not in line with our values as a community. Although it's unavoidable to some extent, I really don't want HN to develop a strong filter bubble where only things I agree with get shown. I want to see dissenting opinions and ideas. I often upvote things I dislike because they were well though out and challenged my thinking.
It's not about scoring imaginary internet points, it's about deciding what is and isn't acceptable in our community. For me the bar for "unacceptable content" is a lot higher than just "dislike."
As others have mentioned, if I disagree and think it's worth the time to engage, I'll respond and hopefully we have a fruitful discussion. Like/dislike doesn't really come into it. If I really dislike it I just close the tab or ignore the comment.
Re: Ask HN: Why Do You Downvote?
#19The one thing I don't like is when comments become "dead", which I understand happens after too many downvotes.
The reason I dislike this, is that besides obviously racist or otherwise inappropriate comments, there are regularly normal seeming comments that are dead. Now, there may be reasons for this I am just not privy to, but I feel it hinders discussion when some opinions that don't seem problematic are just silenced like this.
[Edit]: And rereading my own comment, I think I want to clarify that I am not talking about free speech issues or political discussions here, but I regularly encounter factual seeming or explanatory comments in technical discussions that are dead and it just baffles me.
Re: Ask HN: Why Do You Downvote?
#20I view downvotes as an incomplete feature. If you disagree with some content -- because it is misinformation, or useless, or maybe you just disagree with the argument -- you should be able to explain what's wrong with it. I would much rather have a system where a downvote required a reason, so instead of a downvote it would be more like a comment which can also -1 / 0 / +1 the karma of the parent.
That post that blew up about Apple keeping their 30% cut after a refund was 100% made up. It was, sorry to say, "fake news". But my comment got downvoted. You idiots here on HN would rather read "news" that agrees with your already held opinions, that is why the downvote button is here, so idiots don't have to think too much.
Why express hatred for such a petty reason?