I’m very curious about the reasoning different people use when deciding to downvote a post or comment. Often, when something gets “heavily” downvoted, the OP will ask some variation of “why the downvotes?”. This is sometimes answered with sincere criticism, but sometimes is received even more poorly than the original offending post.

Do you downvote people who ask “why the downvotes?”? What informs the decision?

  • ℕ𝕖𝕞𝕠@slrpnk.netEnglish
    308·
    3 days ago

    I automatically downvote anyone complaining about downvotes. I’m not going to change. Either stand your ground and accept your downvotes with dignity or introspect and see if you can improve your interactions.

    • kartoffelsaft@programming.devEnglish
      202·
      3 days ago

      I’ve never understood this position. There’s definitely people who try to use it rhetorically to get others to engage with their trolling; but “automatic” implies that you’re not concerned with that. Do you not think it’s possible for someone to make a comment in poor taste without knowing what makes it poor taste? Now that I’m thinking about it, that feels like one of the defining traits of autism; I think it’s healthier to explain something “obvious” to someone like that than to effectively say “fuck you for even asking”.

      • leoj@piefed.zipEnglish
        51·
        2 days ago

        yup, such a reddit take to auto-downvote without even providing any information or discussion, one that I actively try to push back against.

      • Mothra@mander.xyzEnglish
        7·
        3 days ago

        This is very true and I often find myself asking for clarification on comments I don’t understand why they get downvoted. Usually I manage to give enough context as to why I’m so ignorant that I need to ask the question, and most times I don’t get downvoted down along with the parent comment.

        But the person you replied to said they downvote people who complain, not ask why their comment is downvoted.

        There is a fine line between complaining and asking for an explanation though so I see your point and your reasoning but I felt like I had to make this distinction too.

      • tyler@programming.devEnglish
        73·
        2 days ago

        Yeah great chance to downvote that person and not explain why lol. What a weird attitude. It’s the most antisocial, rude, guaranteed way to never change someone’s mind ever.

    • Snoopy@piefed.socialEnglish
      91·
      2 days ago

      see if you can improve your interactions

      Are you sure it improves interaction ?

      • This post is the proof that it don’t improve interaction. From my experience, they don’t understand. It didn’t improve their understanding nor invited them to introspect themselve.
      • I don’t think that everyone has the same sensibility. That also tell if users are empathic or unkind.
      • You asume downvoter are always right and we should accept the result with dignity. What if we complained about downvote because we told people that our world isn’t flat but round ?
      • leoj@piefed.zipEnglish
        5·
        2 days ago

        also people paint “complain about downvotes” with a broad brush, wondering why you were downvoted or discussing the reasoning, can easily be painted as “complaining” especially from someone who says they “automatically downvote” (not a lot of nuance in an automatic decision).