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0 pointspvg8y ago0 comments

Discussions about why comments are downvoted are useful

Well, you'd have to convince not me but the moderators of the site of that. They're quite explicitly off-topic in the written guidelines. Have been for many years along with 'neither downvotes nor upvotes come with an explanation obligation'.

And more generally, it's social interaction, not a compiler. Like most social interactions and for most people, it's not that hard for a newcomer, with a bit of participation, to sort out the context and written and unwritten norms, without constant and explicit error messages.

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khedoros18y ago· 2 in thread

Or, I can just answer people's questions about their downvotes to the best of my ability. They're guidelines, in the sense of rules of thumb. There are plenty of times when they just don't make sense. In doing so, you're just taking the chance that a lot of people disagree with your reading of the situation.

> And more generally, it's social interaction, not a compiler.

You've never asked "What did I say wrong?" when someone reacted unexpectedly in a social interaction? No one owes you an explanation, but there are times when it's a reasonable question and shouldn't hurt to ask.

pvgOP8y ago

They're guidelines, in the sense of rules of thumb.

That's really not how they're treated. Neither 'don't be a butthead' nor 'don't whine about votes' are serving suggestions. They're both enforced constantly, directly and indirectly. Without that, the site would be an unreadable cesspool.

You've never asked "What did I say wrong?" when someone reacted unexpectedly in a social interaction?

I don't present every stranger who bumped me on the bus and then gave me the stink eye as if I was the clumsy boor with a questionnaire aimed at establishing a more constructive basis for our ongoing relationship. I just frown and go back to staring at my phone. This is a far more taxing and awkward near-daily social interaction than a seemingly inexplicable downvote.

khedoros18y ago

> That's really not how they're treated.

It really is, in my experience, at least in the rare cases where the reason for a mob downvote isn't clear.

> I don't present every stranger who bumped me on the bus...

But then, you have a single, specific focus for the "downvote": Some single person, who's apparently having a bad day. The cause is obvious, won't be improved by questions, etc. It's a good example of a case where the rule-of-thumb applies. Further, your "questionnaire" could be a raised eyebrow to the person next to you, who might look up, shrug, and turn away.

The whole point is to see if you're being the asshole, or if it's the other guy being unreasonable.

Now, imagine that everyone on the bus is self-selected for a trait besides wanting to travel somewhere. Say, they're tech or business people, congregating for the chance to talk about things that interest "hackers". They're there specifically to talk and discuss. A driveby downvote doesn't aid that goal. An explanation of why the commenter is being unreasonable does, even when it comes as speculation from someone who didn't downvote them.

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