93
votes
Why do people think downvotes need explanation?
I am not so surprised by a lack of symmetry in some situations. While an upvote usually stands for everything is fine / this contribution is useful / I am glad I learned something today , a downvote ...
- 349k
61
votes
Accepted
How to deal with "discomforting" downvotes?
You're too old for this... stuff. Your contributions are greatly appreciated, beyond downvotes. If we find someone is messing with the system, we will do our best to cease it. In the mean time, don't ...
PedroMod
- 120k
59
votes
How to deal with "discomforting" downvotes?
Jack,
I imagine that I am somewhat older than you and perhaps I have thought about my mortality in ways you have not. (I do not know this of course, just a guess.) As I have pondered the rather dim ...
- 136k
39
votes
Accepted
Why are clumsily formulated questions downvoted & closed so much?
Isn't this just a form of gatekeeping, where you only get to ask a question about mathematics if you've already learnt enough of mathematics to rigorously formulate your problem?
This question seems ...
- 25.9k
35
votes
How to deal with "discomforting" downvotes?
You ask if you are wasting your time. I looked through some of your answers from the last (little over a) week, here are some comments that OPs left for you:
Thank you very much, This helped me a lot
...
- 42.6k
32
votes
Accepted
Can we be nicer to downvoters?
It disappoints me that the admission
I don't explain my downvotes anymore because I get abused when I do so.
and the subsequent plea
Can you all be nicer to downvoters so that we don't feel ...
- 14.3k
32
votes
Why do people think downvotes need explanation?
The goal is to improve quality. This means that downvoters better tell what should be improved. Particularly since readers may not be able to detect the presence of downvotes.
Generally, it is my ...
- 9,658
32
votes
Accepted
How to avoid downvotes for beginner's questions?
Added a present the problem bullet point that includes an Edit-Images section.
Added an Edit-Tools paragraph.
In my opinion, the best way to have your query upvoted rather than downvoted is by first ...
- 32.1k
28
votes
Should an answer be downvoted if it is correct (or almost correct)?
There are many possible reasons for down-voting that have nothing to do with correctness in a narrow sense, including:
DVer thinks the answer is too sloppy.
DVer thinks the answer is too terse.
DVer ...
quidMod
- 41.6k
28
votes
Accepted
Specific Downvoting
I understand that the consensus of the community about downvoting is that each one has its own personal reasons to downvote, and should not have to justify that.
Yes, but there is one major ...
quidMod
- 41.6k
27
votes
Can we be nicer to downvoters?
This question is the logical equivalent of "Can we be nicer to the tax collector?" We certainly need the tax collector so that we may function as a society. Without the tax collector, we lose the ...
- 136k
27
votes
Accepted
How can I avoid immediate down-voting and how should I go about requesting feedback?
Disclaimer: I hadn't seen your question before following the link in this meta question. I'm basing this answer on the first revision of the question.
The title is the title, not the first sentence ...
- 13.3k
26
votes
Accepted
Is there anything to improve in this post which is about ambiguity in question about field axioms?
Is there anything to improve in this post?
Yes. A lot.
Remove your commentary about the downvotes.
Remove your commentary about the close votes.
Move your comment about the cross-posting to a ...
- 724
25
votes
Accepted
Deduction in rep for downvoting
It helps keep people from getting carried away with downvoting. If you didn't lose any points from it, you could downvote a lot of stuff (and you can kinda see that here on Meta).
That $-1$ point is ...
- 14.5k
23
votes
Accepted
Isn't rewarding question askers taking away from downvotes?
It is not exactly clear to me what type of answer you are looking for, but for what it's worth:
Yes, as far as reputation points are concerned the relative impact of downvotes on questions is ...
quidMod
- 41.6k
23
votes
Accepted
Which posts have a high value of $\min(\text{upvotes, downvotes})$?
As already mentioned, this can be done using SEDE.
The posts with highest $\min$(upvotes,downvotes): main, meta
You can also modify the query to include some additional information about the post (e....
- 51.9k
22
votes
How to deal with "discomforting" downvotes?
Since I was the moderator handling this ill-fated thread in main let me give a summary of its history the way I saw it.
The question was asked by a new user yesterday. It was judged to lack ...
- 128k
22
votes
Accepted
Downvotes on answers to 'poor' questions
Downvoting answers just because they are posted on a poor question is a bad practice.
However when you hover over the downvote arrow it says This answer is not useful, one could argue that the ...
- 13.3k
22
votes
Accepted
Downvote even contributing with more information to an old question
There is no such thing.
Some people, however, feel that in order for a contribution to an old question that has already amassed some good answers, one needs to go the extra mile to prove that it's ...
- 383k
21
votes
Accepted
Are my serial downvotes inappropriate?
In my mind there are at least three sides to this, in general not only for this particular case.
At one level the votes are appropriate. They are based on your best judgment of the post. To ...
quidMod
- 41.6k
21
votes
How to deal with the negativity of a power user that picks on you?
There is no way to block a user from seeing your questions or profile. When such comments are issued, or if you suspect an irregular voting pattern, you should flag for moderator attention and move on....
PedroMod
- 120k
20
votes
Can we please stop voting to close a question just because the question is short?
The question raises a valid point, but does so in a non-optimal way.
Can we please stop voting to close a question just because the question is short?
Yes, sure. Everyone agrees. Let's move on. ...
quidMod
- 41.6k
20
votes
Accepted
When do we upvote or accept an answer?
While I'm not the most active on this site, my experience on other SE sites would suggest a simple piece of advice: upvote answers that are helpful, and downvote answers that are harmful. You get a ...
- 3,420
19
votes
Accepted
Names of downvoters should be listed.
Voting is anonymous. By design. That's never going to change. Should users wish to reveal how they voted on a post and why by commenting on the post, this is largely up to them. Even then, sometimes ...
- 51.3k
18
votes
Accepted
Downvoting posts that are very popular but not especially good - is this an acceptable way to vote?
From a rules standpoint, you can vote how you want, with only a few exceptions-- namely, revenge downvoting, targeted voting, upvote rings, etc. The common theme of these exceptions is that they're ...
- 26.3k
17
votes
Why does the person who is downvoting an answer get a downvote himself?
It is the case that casting a down-vote on an answer costs one point (except if the answer is CW); it is not really a down-vote one receives though. Moreover, the point is returned when/if the answer ...
quidMod
- 41.6k
17
votes
Accepted
Should we find 5 downvotes on an answer from a user with 13,721 reputation suspicious?
The reputation score of the user who posted the answer is completely irrelevant. What matters is the quality of the answer. Five downvotes on a good answer are suspicious whoever posted the answer, ...
- 203k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible