It's not a perfect solution to dealing with misanthropes.
But it would slow them some, and force a little balance into their painful existence.
I've had some similar thoughts. Unfortunately votes are kind of a 'one-size-fits-all' solution to a few very different problems.
Votes can do a great job of sorting out spam and inappropriate content.
In theory it might also act as reasonable moderation for and by users, but in reality it only works when there are no abusers.
The whole thing breaks down once users start to actively manipulate it, and it is highly vulnerable to manipulation.
The adding a comment may curtail some of the conversational abuses, but it complicates the other aspects. Nobody wants to see a long chain of comments saying 'spam'.
Voting seems like Democracy in general. Great in theory, deeply flawed in reality, but still better than the alternatives.
I've had some similar thoughts. Unfortunately votes are kind of a 'one-size-fits-all' solution to a few very different problems.
Votes can do a great job of sorting out spam and inappropriate content.
In *theory* it might also act as reasonable moderation for and by users, but in reality it only works when there are no abusers.
The whole thing breaks down once users start to actively manipulate it, and it is highly vulnerable to manipulation.
The adding a comment may curtail some of the conversational abuses, but it complicates the other aspects. Nobody wants to see a long chain of comments saying 'spam'.
Voting seems like Democracy in general. Great in theory, deeply flawed in reality, but still better than the alternatives.
Voting seems like Democracy in general. Great in theory, deeply flawed in reality, but still better than the alternatives.
Agree. And you're right, my comment for a down vote will just turn into everyone who down votes putting in snarky remarks that add up to a long list of nothing burgers.
I agree that down votes do help with spam and trolling, but otherwise are useless and used more by the bad guys to piss off those they wish to tweak. The best solution is likely just to ignore them and build your own good vibes so their effect is minimal at best.
> Voting seems like Democracy in general. Great in theory, deeply flawed in reality, but still better than the alternatives.
Agree. And you're right, my comment for a down vote will just turn into everyone who down votes putting in snarky remarks that add up to a long list of nothing burgers.
I agree that down votes do help with spam and trolling, but otherwise are useless and used more by the bad guys to piss off those they wish to tweak. The best solution is likely just to ignore them and build your own good vibes so their effect is minimal at best.
I've never put a lot of stick in this whole up vote/down vote thing in general. Sure, it has a purpose, I suppose, but down votes in particular IMHO are a bad concept. I occasionally down vote, but very rarely, but generally up vote anything that I consider decent content, mostly to encourage others to post. All that being said, I still see little value in the system itself, but some get so bent out of shape over worthless internet points, it's unbelievable - LOL. When I can use them to buy a cup of coffee, maybe then I'll care.
I do have one idea I've tossed out on different forums though, but it has never gotten traction. My solution would be to record the user names of those who down vote in each thread (you could do it with up votes, too, but there's less point to that). To add to this, also require a comment be added by the down voter on the reason they've done so. Down voters are generally gutless wonders or trolls. Record their user names and all will see who they are. Make them comment and you'd see why they did so, maybe. If you really do feel strong enough against something to down vote, let your name be known and comment ...