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I don't think this is a bad idea. You'd have a reason for being down-voted. Some people I think need that, either for closure or to learn about themselves, whether they want to or not.
Although where would it end... There could be so many reasons for down-voting someone.
Maybe an alternative could be to establish a simple ground rule for down-voting, like "a down vote is for something that doesn't belong on this platform" or breaks the TOS or something, in combination with a popup or similar that reminds/nags you about it each time you down-vote. Of course that'd be up to each client to implement such a thing, as that would be client-side behavior. Perhaps opt-out-able in settings, but a sane default after a fresh install.
Just brain-storming. 😅
It would be also useful to detect when you say something that needs to be clarified further. Often things are extra clear in your mind, but when you write them down people get confused, assumers put words on the gaps, this sort of stuff.
It would be useful for the downvoter, too. A lot of people downvote stuff automatically; perhaps if they were required to think "why am I downvoting this?", they wouldn't.
I think that 5~8 wider categories would work the best. For example "unfunny", "factually incorrect", "rude", so goes on. And then a catch-all "no clarification / other / I simply dislike it".
The problem is enforcing it. Like @[email protected], people will misuse it as like/dislike buttons. So perhaps giving a way to express it that is clearly labelled as such would be an improvement.
(I'm brainstorming too, mind you. Nothing too serious.)
Your points make perfect sense as well, to me.
And you mention the ground rule. I guess it wouldn't be a "rule" that would be enforced so much, so to speak. More like a rule of thumb. A reminder to us that just having a net count of dislikes and likes is not very nuanced and easily causes polarization.
But your points are good, thank you for adding!
I kind of somewhat sympathize with the instances that remove the down vote button. Either you up vote something you care about or agree with, or want others to see; or you discuss. Because if there's no discussion, wtf is this platform even for.
Even on Reddit, it was originally understood that an upvote was for a comment that contributed to the conversation, or a post that you'd recommend others see, and a downvote was the opposite. But people just naturally want to make them like/dislike buttons. I've upvoted lots of comments that I disagreed with as long as I thought they were a good faith contribution to the discussion.
An exception is when the thread is something like advice or an explanation (e.g., why is the sky blue). I'm not upvoting a wrong answer or bad advice regardless of the broader voting philosophy.
That's where I got the idea from. And that's actually something I thought was very sane from Reddit, that I bring with me, online and in life in general.
I hover over the down vote button sometimes, and think, "Can I add something to the conversation instead of just down voting? Sometimes I'll even retract the down vote and replace it with a comment where I ask for more info. Kind of a benefit of the doubt kind of thing.
I personally draw the line at up-voting something I don't agree with. ✋😅 I'll admit that. Just because up votes do send a message to others as well, as something "popular".
In life as well: if I don't agree with someone, I might go, "What makes you feel that way?", or "Do you have an example of that?" or whatever. Just so I can take a step back from reacting. With more knowledge of another person's perspective and feelings, you can more easily persuade them.
And even better, sometimes you might learn a new perspective that gives you a better understanding that changes your mind. Those times are even cooler. 👌
Understood, and that makes sense. I do try to look at the conversational back and forth, not just the individual comment. So if I find myself thinking someone I know should read the whole exchange, I'm more inclined to up vote the individual comments, even the ones I disagree with.
Another exception, though, is anyone being an asshole, even if they make a good point. I prefer conversations to be civil, and don't want to give any credence to a jerk.
I am absolutely on board with this 😄👍
I'd love multiple types of upvote, too. Different ones for funny comments and insightful comments would go a long way. Being able to sift the pun threads out would be a godsend.