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This question is in accordance with the question that I answered yesterday. It was downvoted three times without any comment (even the pop-up displayed instructs to do so) of the users that what was wrong with the solution.

I'm not against the downvotes but why without any reason it being downvoted? At least let me know is anything wrong in the solution so that I can correct it. Also, it was not a PSQ as OP did mention what he thinks might be useful to solve the problem.

I don't mind even the post gets deleted but there should be a valid reason for that. I'm extremely furious to this behavior of MSE users.

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  • $\begingroup$ Concerning the pop-up displays, it is shown to users with low reputation score only (may be <2000? I cannot see it now when I downvoted). $\endgroup$
    – Arctic Char
    Aug 8, 2020 at 5:31
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    $\begingroup$ The issue of silent downvotes has been brought up in the past. See, for example, In praise of silence. Cribbing from Martin Sleziak's comments see also: math.meta.stackexchange.com/q/1479 math.meta.stackexchange.com/q/3153 math.meta.stackexchange.com/q/18891 math.meta.stackexchange.com/q/23486 math.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/31020 (These should now appear in the sidebar.) $\endgroup$
    – Xander Henderson Mod
    Aug 8, 2020 at 6:24
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    $\begingroup$ @Xander Henderson, thanks for providing the links. But, it will be helpful if you directly address my problem. $\endgroup$
    – SarGe
    Aug 8, 2020 at 6:31
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    $\begingroup$ I downvoted not because of that, but that it is not clear what you are asking. If you are suggesting that downvoter should provide a reason, this had been discuss many, many times, as Xander suggesed. $\endgroup$
    – Arctic Char
    Aug 8, 2020 at 6:32
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    $\begingroup$ On the main site, we insist that askers do their homework, first. We ask them to provide context, which means demonstrating that they have made an effort to understand the question they are asking, and the larger world in which it is asked. When an old question is re-asked, the new version is closed as a duplicate. The same standards apply to meta: when you ask a question, you need to do the legwork to demonstrate that you understand the context in which your question is being asked. Read the linked Q&As. If they don't answer your question, please edit to explain your specific inquiry. $\endgroup$
    – Xander Henderson Mod
    Aug 8, 2020 at 6:35
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    $\begingroup$ @Arctic Char, I also asked whether the answer given by me is correct or not? Now, that many users had viewed the answer, they can upvote the answer if it is errorless or at least express your opinion on what might be the potential issues for downvoting so I will correct. $\endgroup$
    – SarGe
    Aug 8, 2020 at 6:37
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    $\begingroup$ @Xander Henderson, I personally don't find any fault in the answer I provided. Users who are experienced in mathematics should correct it if it is wrong. I don't care about the early discussions as this meta question is intended to solve a particular doubt : What's wrong with the answer which I provided that it received downvotes? $\endgroup$
    – SarGe
    Aug 8, 2020 at 6:42
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    $\begingroup$ If your question is not about the general policy, but about your specific answer, you may consider asking in this chat room. $\endgroup$
    – Arctic Char
    Aug 8, 2020 at 6:51
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    $\begingroup$ I kindly thank the users of MSE for again serially downvoting the post without commenting the reason and appreciate the decorum rendered. Keep it up! $\endgroup$
    – SarGe
    Aug 8, 2020 at 7:33
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    $\begingroup$ I wouldn't downvote your original answer on main, but if I were an examiner then I would deduct some marks. $\endgroup$
    – Paramanand Singh Mod
    Aug 8, 2020 at 11:29
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    $\begingroup$ @SarGe: I downvoted this question here, so I'll explain my downvote. I was going to address it in my answer below but it seemed needlessly confrontational. However, you seem committed to your approach (your "I kindly thank ..." passive aggressiveness) so it seems worth addressing. Basically, you came into this post furious, full of hostility, and demanding things that are not owed to you but are provided by other people out of their free time, and inflicting your hostility on the community. I think this is why you're getting bad reactions from some people. $\endgroup$
    – JonathanZ supports MonicaC
    Aug 8, 2020 at 16:00
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    $\begingroup$ (Acknowledged @JonathanZ's comment) I sincerely apologise to all the site members for my rant behaviour and do hereby assure that it will not be repeated again. $\endgroup$
    – SarGe
    Aug 8, 2020 at 18:17
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    $\begingroup$ :--) Thanks, SarGe. Apology sincerely accepted and my downvote removed. There's so much bad behavior on the internet that's it's nice to see maturity demonstrated. $\endgroup$
    – JonathanZ supports MonicaC
    Aug 8, 2020 at 18:37
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    $\begingroup$ Does this answer your question? In praise of silence $\endgroup$
    – Bach
    Aug 8, 2020 at 18:47
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    $\begingroup$ Glad to see some tensions reduced here! Raising a concern on meta should be more about the "concern" rather than how you feel about it. Even if one needs to express strong feeling there are ways to express it in positive manner. $\endgroup$
    – Paramanand Singh Mod
    Aug 9, 2020 at 2:01

3 Answers 3

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People are downvoting your answer because the question called for a proof and you posted a picture. While it is a nice illustration of the concept, it is inadequate on its own.

You might improve your post by adding algebraic details showing how your idea is correct.

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    $\begingroup$ Thanks for understanding my problem. The reason for not providing complete solution was that I just wanted to give OP a hint and let him solve the rest of the part (mainly involving calculations). I've also commented on many answers Try to give hints first rather than providing complete solution. Also, ask OP for their attempt or what more they know about the context.and now if I'll give complete solution it will violate the code. Either the downvoters or OP would've requested me for further clarification but none of them did rather than simply downvoting. I just wanted reason for downvotes. $\endgroup$
    – SarGe
    Aug 8, 2020 at 8:25
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    $\begingroup$ @SarGe A good hint should give the asker a clear path to an answer. I see that your answer has been edited, but in reference to the original version: How does your picture provide that clear path? The picture gives a good intuition, but that intuition is orthogonal to the actual argument which is required. $\endgroup$
    – Xander Henderson Mod
    Aug 8, 2020 at 14:42
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There are two questions wrapped up in this post: "What's wrong with my answer?", and "Explain downvoting behavior.". AlexanderGruber addresss the first question, so I'm going to respond to the second.

At least let me know is anything wrong in the solution so that I can correct it. ... I don't mind even the post gets deleted but there should be a valid reason for that. I'm extremely furious to this behavior of MSE users.

Based on my experience here (4 years), you can take it as an axiom that some of your posts (both questions and answers) are going to get down votes without an explanation. It will happen. I figure people either find a way to live with it, or they leave, or they stick around being furious (which I think isn't good for their mental health, or for the site).

One thing that can be useful is to realize that math.se isn't a classroom where one is working to receive a grade (which, let's face it, is how most of us spent our first 10-15 years doing math). Here we're all contributing to a body of work that is supposed to be useful to others. In the past I've submitted answers that I thought were a very cool way of looking at a problem, and gotten zero votes or down votes. Oh well, I enjoyed thinking about the question and coming up with the answer. Other people thinking it's not useful for the site doesn't take that away from me.

There is another question you raised: "How can I get a critique of my answer if it's getting down voted?". Remembering that this isn't guaranteed to anyone, we realize that we're asking others to spend some extra time and effort doing something for us. So sometimes adding a comment "Curious about the downvotes?", or "Are the downvotes because of an error in the answer or something else?" can prompt a response. For myself, I might not bother to explain a downvote - it might feel like wasted effort - but if someone specifically asks for an explanation I'd think "oh, it is worth my effort adding an explanation here".

Another possibility is chat rooms. Stealing @ArcticChar's comment: Constructive Feedback is a chat room where people can go with a "what's wrong with my answer" query.

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    $\begingroup$ Thanks for your encouraging words. I completely agree with you. But I thought that I will be banned from answering due to many downvotes so why should I suffer because of other's misbehavior. $\endgroup$
    – SarGe
    Aug 8, 2020 at 16:07
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    $\begingroup$ Glad you found my answer useful. But I do have to re-emphasize that other's downvoting behavior is not defined as misbehavior here. And if what you were worried about was how these downvotes would affect your status here, a meta question asking "Can these downvotes put my posting status at risk?" would have been a lot more effective than "I'm angry and demand an explanation". $\endgroup$
    – JonathanZ supports MonicaC
    Aug 8, 2020 at 16:14
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    $\begingroup$ Also, out of curiosity, I checked your answer history. Dude, it looks excellent to me. 1700 rep, 111 answers, all from 0 to 5 upvotes. I think (though someone else should verify) that downvotes are weighted against past history, and one downvoted question with all those positives I would think wouldn't matter. Also, it looks like you've gone from getting a bunch of zeros to getting a lot of 2s, so whatever changes you've been making lately are working. Like others have said: don't let this bother you too much, you look to be on an excellent path. Pleasure having you here. $\endgroup$
    – JonathanZ supports MonicaC
    Aug 8, 2020 at 16:21
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    $\begingroup$ Got it! I'll remember this next time. $\endgroup$
    – SarGe
    Aug 8, 2020 at 16:22
  • $\begingroup$ Very well written answer! +1 for "I enjoyed thinking about the question and coming up with the answer". $\endgroup$
    – Paramanand Singh Mod
    Aug 9, 2020 at 2:09
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Thank you for making efforts to answer questions on the main site. I think your picture is a good hint. I personally prefer your first version.

That said, people perceive answers differently. And people downvote an answer for all sorts of reasons, good or bad. Unless there were massive ill-intention serial downvoting, you can't really control how people vote.

Thinking on the bright side, you can take it as a chance to make your answer more appealing. After all, there are diverse groups of users on the main site: User A may think your short answer X as smart and excellent while User B may consider it lacking details, orthogonal, or not enlightening. (Take a look at this one. )

I would suggest that don't let downvotes hurt you and continue answering questions you like.

Appendix.

In the mentioned post of the main site, this is the original question:

Proving the integral inequality $$ 2≤\int_{-1}^1 \sqrt{1+x^6} dx ≤ 2\sqrt{2}\;, $$ posted with some "mumble jumble" of "taking the derivative to all side of the inequality".

And this is OP's original answer:

enter image description here

You just have to find the relation between the area under [the] curve and the suitable rectangles.

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  • $\begingroup$ Thanks for your reply. :-) $\endgroup$
    – SarGe
    Aug 8, 2020 at 16:19
  • $\begingroup$ @SarGe: you are welcome. $\endgroup$
    – user9464
    Aug 8, 2020 at 17:47

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