just a quick thought on up/down votes on the OPs post.
my personal take... just because I think the content of a post is inflammatory or outright wrong, does not mean it deserves an insta-downvote.
every post and thread is a chance to share constructive dialogue. if the thread goes off the rails, I hand out downvotes liberally. If it is actually informative or interesting, I hand out upvotes - even if I disagree with a particular argument.
I have learned to spot idiots much more easily by watching the dialogue of a post develop and participating -- without doing the "it hurt my feelings, downvote!" thing.