zlacker

I downvote anything I don't like and I upvote what I do like. Most of the time I'm upvoting someone who already made basically the same comment I was going to make. No point in saying the same thing again in another comment, just upvote. If someone says the opposite of what I was going to say, I downvote.

I never understood people acting like downvoting is some huge crime or being downvoted is some great slight. It's a little arrow on a web site. It makes a number in a database go up or down by 1. I don't care how many points my comments score, and neither should anyone else. Speak your mind, or don't, and move on with life.

>>Aprech+(OP)
The reason people frown upon the downvote is because we explicitly don't want people using it to express dislike. Rather, we should use it as a way for the community to self-police content that is not in line with our values as a community. Although it's unavoidable to some extent, I really don't want HN to develop a strong filter bubble where only things I agree with get shown. I want to see dissenting opinions and ideas. I often upvote things I dislike because they were well though out and challenged my thinking.

It's not about scoring imaginary internet points, it's about deciding what is and isn't acceptable in our community. For me the bar for "unacceptable content" is a lot higher than just "dislike."

As others have mentioned, if I disagree and think it's worth the time to engage, I'll respond and hopefully we have a fruitful discussion. Like/dislike doesn't really come into it. If I really dislike it I just close the tab or ignore the comment.

>>Aprech+(OP)
You're being downvoted for stating you downvote things you don't like by others who don't like you downvoting things you don't like. The irony in that is worth savoring for a moment.

>>Aprech+(OP)
I disagree strongly with your position, but I will upvote your comment after I submit mine because you stated it in a way that I felt deserved a reply. I vote toward the goal of surfacing good HN discussion.

If you vote according to your own views on a topic, then you're saying that you want everyone to see only views that agree with yours, and you want contrasting views to be hidden from everyone. This must be true because voting affects the presentation of comments on the site; it is not at all just an inert database column.

I would like to see well-expressed opinions regardless of how echoey or reprehensible they might be. I visit HN in the hopes of having my mind changed, and those kinds of comments are the very comments that might change my mind.

That's why I especially try to vote for any comment I reply to (because it was literally thought-provoking); comments that restated another jumbled comment well (they improve site readability); and comments that explain extreme viewpoints in rational if not reasonable terms (they promote further logical or at least empathetic discussion). None of these have anything to do with my personal opinion on the subject.

You're going to downvote my comment because I think voting serves to curate the site to make it a better place to visit, and you think voting is a popularity contest for your own world view. I want your viewpoint to be seen and discussed. You want mine to be hidden.

>>jdbern+b1
> we explicitly don't want people using it to express dislike

I was led to believe that the opposite was true:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=117171

>>jamesl+X2
Thank you for pointing this out. My gut reaction was "glad they're getting downvoted for this" when I saw their comment.

>>jdbern+b1
I always liked the idea behind it and have tried to stick to it, but I think having only a single button to express a positive or negative reaction is a mistake (I only learned today that there is a way to flag comments but it's not part of the main UI for some reason).

I'd like to see a wider range of options that have different effects on a post/comment like specific agree/disagree buttons that don't have the effect of making the comment move up/down or be lighter/darker, maybe just shows a count for both agree and disagree, not a single number that moves up for agree and down for disagree like votes do. Flag-like reactions should require some type of write-up, single-click actions are too convenient for users in a rage.

>>jdbern+b1
> The reason people frown upon the downvote is because we explicitly don't want people using it to express dislike.

Who’s “we” here and on what basis are you able to speak for that group? It has been stated by pg himself a long time ago that it’s ok to downvote to express dislike or disagreement.

> Although it's unavoidable to some extent, I really don't want HN to develop a strong filter bubble where only things I agree with get shown. I want to see dissenting opinions and ideas.

HN already has a strong filter bubble on various topics. Yes, it may seem better than some other communities, but any place that constantly allows new users to view or participate will have them (the new users) see some sort of filter bubbles established and enforced by the ones who have been around for longer (and have these as blind spots that they cannot recognize).