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Here is proof that I downvoted my own question, and now have the critic badge, even though for a split second, the vote goes down, but then the background code makes it impossible for this occurrence:enter image description here

I believe that this is a glitch that should be fixed to make sure that nobody gets this badge by accident, like me, or abuses the system to get a free badge. I have never downvoted anyone else’s question nor answer. Why does this happen, and does this happen for any other badge? Nevertheless, we get used to bronze badges eventually. I thought this might be nice to point out.

You still may be able to click my account and see this the question where this badge was gotten from for yourself if you wish. Please correct me and give me feedback!

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  • $\begingroup$ What do you mean by second time? $\endgroup$
    – Calvin Khor
    Commented May 10, 2021 at 1:23
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    $\begingroup$ It would be easier to "see this spectacle for yourself" if you linked to the Question. Each post has a timeline. $\endgroup$
    – hardmath
    Commented May 10, 2021 at 1:47
  • $\begingroup$ @hardmath maybe OP means to recreate the screenshot by looking at their profile. Does that counter give the gross or net downvote count? If i only had 1 downvote given from my account and I remove it, I guess I could recreate the screenshot. $\endgroup$
    – Calvin Khor
    Commented May 10, 2021 at 2:37
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    $\begingroup$ @CalvinKhor: I did look at the user's activity page, which (at very bottom) shows the total of downvotes as zero (inter alia). So on the face of it they have earned the Critic badge without having cast a downvote. $\endgroup$
    – hardmath
    Commented May 10, 2021 at 2:40
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    $\begingroup$ Yes @hardmath sorry I meant the activity page. The second part of my comment was meant to convey how the given screenshot by itself may not rule out a bug-free way to create the screenshot (which makes the link you asked for more important.) $\endgroup$
    – Calvin Khor
    Commented May 10, 2021 at 2:45
  • $\begingroup$ By second time, I mean that I have tried this “downvote” before on my own question without getting this badge. The link is my profile icon and then the “Main” account and I never had this popular of a question before on this meta. Thanks for the help! $\endgroup$
    – Tyma Gaidash
    Commented May 10, 2021 at 12:02
  • $\begingroup$ @TymaGaidash The link hardmath means is the specific question you tried to downvote, not your profile. $\endgroup$
    – user1729
    Commented May 10, 2021 at 12:26
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    $\begingroup$ Thanks for adding the link in your Comment above. However that is a Question on the meta Math.SE site (this one), and it doesn't look like you earned the Critic badge here. There remains a little puzzle about when you earned the Critic badge on the main Math.SE site, but there's nothing to tie that in to a self-downvote. $\endgroup$
    – hardmath
    Commented May 10, 2021 at 18:37

1 Answer 1

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The badge was awarded for a vote you cast for someone else's answer. You removed the vote literally one second after you cast it, which might be the cause for your confusion, though — as that means it's not recorded in your voting stats, as your screenshot shows.

I'm marking this as since I'm thinking of the badge as an award for discovering a particular part of the UI — the voting mechanism. So even if you removed the downvote right away, you still interacted with the UI, and the system is rewarding you for that behavior.

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    $\begingroup$ @TymaGaidash See What privileges and tools do staff members without a diamond have access to? $\endgroup$
    – The Amplitwist
    Commented May 10, 2021 at 20:25
  • $\begingroup$ I removed an upvote I cast (on math.meta, so no rep loss :) ) and found that the upvote was removed from the list of votes accessible from my Activity page. There also is not a subheading for removed votes, like there is for close votes, undelete votes, etc. Should removed votes be listed? It would give OP the ability to verify that this was not a bug. $\endgroup$
    – Calvin Khor
    Commented May 11, 2021 at 5:00
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    $\begingroup$ The self-vote you mention, @TymaGaidash, is completely unrelated to the badge. There's a quick succession of up-, down-, and up-votes you cast and uncast (with the exception of the last up-vote) on someone else's answer, and that's what made the system award you the badge. $\endgroup$
    – JNat StaffMod
    Commented May 11, 2021 at 8:50
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    $\begingroup$ They aren't listed, indeed, @CalvinKhor — I don't feel strongly either way, but if you do you're welcome to post and discuss the possible feature request on MSE. I don't see such a feature request being prioritized any time soon, though, for total transparency. $\endgroup$
    – JNat StaffMod
    Commented May 11, 2021 at 8:52
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    $\begingroup$ I personally am fine with not seeing retracted votes, the best case scenario I was hoping for was "actually removed votes can be seen, I forgot to link them for OP". And then I also learn something about the UI of SE, and OP gets proof :) I'll leave it up to OP to post that feature request. $\endgroup$
    – Calvin Khor
    Commented May 11, 2021 at 9:01

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