If we can all agree that the down vote button is a "moderation tool" instead of a "I don't agree with your opinion tool" we will all be better off and it will promote a far better community experience where unpopular opinions are discussed and hashed out instead of downvoted into oblivion. It would make general interaction so much more interesting.
Personally I think a hivemind like community is boring, cultish and sadly self congratulating. If we can have this on a plaque somewhere I would be happy.
Even if unpopular opinions aren't downvoted, what difference does it make if they don't get upvoted while all similar comments do? It leaves them in the same place: at the bottom.
I think the difference is knowing when to simply take no action rather than downvoting. Upvotes are not required in the absence of a downvote. Some things may be best left unvoted on.
It'd be nice if we can all agree on that, but that's an inherent problem with an increasingly large community. I'm afraid we won't be able to get the "crowd" to agree to use the arrow properly. I don't know of any site that has been successful in that endeavor.
Say people view the up vote as a button to say, "Yay, this gives me a positive feeling!" If a snap makes you laugh, you agree with its point, or you think it's worth being seen for any other reason, you're going to hit the up vote. Of course, if there's another button simply pointing down, it's natural to use it for the opposite reason. If a snap isn't contributing value, makes you angry, and/or you disagree, your instinct is to use the negative button.
It's really just a matter of perception, and I think that could be changed by moving away from the up-arrow/down-arrow system.
Edit: I do like that the arrows aren't shown until you hover over the comment, though! It's a subtle way to encourage reading the comment and thinking about it before actually making a judgement.
If we can all agree that the down vote button is a "moderation tool" instead of a "I don't agree with your opinion tool" we will all be better off and it will promote a far better community experience where unpopular opinions are discussed and hashed out instead of downvoted into oblivion. It would make general interaction so much more interesting.
Personally I think a hivemind like community is boring, cultish and sadly self congratulating. If we can have this on a plaque somewhere I would be happy.
Exactly :) I was wondering if you'd be around
Think we can have something like this stickied in /t/lounge ?
Even if unpopular opinions aren't downvoted, what difference does it make if they don't get upvoted while all similar comments do? It leaves them in the same place: at the bottom.
I think the difference is knowing when to simply take no action rather than downvoting. Upvotes are not required in the absence of a downvote. Some things may be best left unvoted on.
Truer words have never been spoken.
It'd be nice if we can all agree on that, but that's an inherent problem with an increasingly large community. I'm afraid we won't be able to get the "crowd" to agree to use the arrow properly. I don't know of any site that has been successful in that endeavor.
Say people view the up vote as a button to say, "Yay, this gives me a positive feeling!" If a snap makes you laugh, you agree with its point, or you think it's worth being seen for any other reason, you're going to hit the up vote. Of course, if there's another button simply pointing down, it's natural to use it for the opposite reason. If a snap isn't contributing value, makes you angry, and/or you disagree, your instinct is to use the negative button.
It's really just a matter of perception, and I think that could be changed by moving away from the up-arrow/down-arrow system.
Edit: I do like that the arrows aren't shown until you hover over the comment, though! It's a subtle way to encourage reading the comment and thinking about it before actually making a judgement.
SO WRONG, DOWNVO...wait.