I downvoted this answer : Can we find the perimeter of a triangle given only its base and height? , because the answer was really bad. But to my surprise, 1 point was deducted from my reputation (https://math.stackexchange.com/users/93616/sawarnik?tab=reputation). I don't mind that much, but what, why .. this has happened?
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9$\begingroup$ -1. You really should've tried the help pages first. $\endgroup$– Lord_FarinCommented Nov 1, 2013 at 13:18
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$\begingroup$ @Lord Farin Fine, but my question is "why"? $\endgroup$– SawarnikCommented Nov 1, 2013 at 13:20
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$\begingroup$ Ah, so you meant to ask "What is the reasoning behind downvotes costing 1 reputation?" That's not what I read. $\endgroup$– Lord_FarinCommented Nov 1, 2013 at 13:22
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1$\begingroup$ Ya, because as you said I wasn't aware of the rules [a bit silly in my opinion], so this was more like a surprise, but as you may have read, my real question was what you said. I am more surprised by the blast of downvotes on this and delete this once I get a proper answer, which more or less Arthur has given. $\endgroup$– SawarnikCommented Nov 1, 2013 at 13:26
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1$\begingroup$ The point is that downvotes should be carefully administered. For example, in the answer you link to the answerer is a new user and so I personally feel that an explanation of how to improve their answer would have been more constructive than a downvote. $\endgroup$– user1729Commented Nov 1, 2013 at 13:29
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2$\begingroup$ @user1729 In this particular case, the user was inactive for months, and had done nothing other than that answer. That is why I had refrained from doing what you said. $\endgroup$– SawarnikCommented Nov 1, 2013 at 13:32
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$\begingroup$ @Sawarnik Ah, okay. I didn't spot that. Then I agree that a downvote is not inappropriate. $\endgroup$– user1729Commented Nov 1, 2013 at 13:34
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$\begingroup$ Also note that upvotes and downvotes on meta don't affect your reputation. $\endgroup$– JRNCommented Nov 1, 2013 at 14:15
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2$\begingroup$ @Sawarnik: I'd like to point out that downvotes on meta questions are not the same as downvotes on regular questions. On meta, they are supposed to indicate disagreement with the question's premise rather than being a sign that the question itself is poor. $\endgroup$– Cheerful ParsnipCommented Nov 1, 2013 at 14:46
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$\begingroup$ @GrumpyParsnip Well, not exactly. It's not like you aren't supposed to downvote poor questions on meta, it's just that downvotes on meta sites also signify disagreement. $\endgroup$– Dennis MengCommented Nov 2, 2013 at 0:32
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1 Answer
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This is completely by design. See the privilege page:
What happens when I vote down?
When you vote down, you are nudging that content "down" the page, so it will be seen by fewer people. Voting down answers is not something we want you to take lightly, so it is not free.
- Downvotes remove 2 reputation from the post owner.
- Downvotes on answers remove 1 reputation from you, the voter.
- Downvotes on questions are free. (Why?)
answered Nov 1, 2013 at 13:04
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7$\begingroup$ @Sawarnik: In a perfect world this would be a temporary deduction. Should the answer be deleted, the 1pt of reputation would be restored. Should the answer be edited to be better, you could remove your downvote and restore that point. The main reason, I believe, is to discourage people from downvoting too much, and for inappropriate reasons. (See this old, old, old MSO thread.) $\endgroup$– user642796 ModCommented Nov 1, 2013 at 13:20
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$\begingroup$ "...The only reason we had downvotes cost -1 was to make people really think about using downvotes in moderation, only when appropriate..." $\endgroup$– user76445Commented Apr 12, 2014 at 14:39
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$\begingroup$ I have given my first downvote to an answer (math.stackexchange.com/questions/908108/…, fomula (4)) because the author has not shown any action to remove a plainly wrong formula despite the fact that the error was noted by many users, and I think it should be avoided that other users employ the wrong formula (which already happened). Unformtunately, the moderation has not taken notice. To get punished for trying to improve quality- even though it is only by -1 point - is strange. $\endgroup$ Commented Apr 12, 2020 at 14:22