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Together: Which kind of post should be downvoted? [answered]

asked 2014-01-11 16:56:25 +0300

lk gravatar image

I read this post about down-voting but it doesn't really state the actual reasons for giving a down vote or explain situations where to use it.

I'm wondering, some questions here are down-voted quite harshly although they don't seem to be that bad. So I'd like to ask you, what in your opinion are the characteristics of a post or an answer deserving a down vote? Do you think down-voting should be used at all? Is the "anti-newbieism" the biggest reason for most down votes here?

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The question has been closed for the following reason "the question is answered, an answer was accepted" by JSEHV
close date 2016-02-01 14:54:40.057512

Comments

6

Incorrect answers should be downvoted. When it's expressing opinions it's better to upvote those you agree with and leave those you disagree with alone.

Vaskinn ( 2014-01-11 18:30:42 +0300 )edit

@jjaone: "what the OP means by "anti-newbiesm"". Probably you mean "https://together.jolla.com/question/12325/code-of-conduct-down-voting/" although I did not write "anti...". I remember a question that was in Finnish and obviously was down-voted just because the newbie did not use English. In another question a newbie asked something rather absurd and was down-voted although it was quite obvious that there was simply a lack of knowledge behind that question (unfortunately I cannot remember details of that question).

jgr ( 2014-01-12 01:12:08 +0300 )edit

@Vaskinn: "Also, answer that are not really answers should be downvoted and/or asked to be converted to comments..." I have such an answer, which was given as answer because it exceeded the max numbers of characters in a comment (only later I learned, that comments can be longer). However, the answer cannot be converted because it exceeds the max. number of characters in a comment :-(

I also cannot remove it, because it was commented already -- apart from the fact, that in general the statement is correct only did not fit that particular original poster, which could not be known at the time of writing.

(I do not mind the few down-votes I received, I was not a newbie any longer when I received them!)

jgr ( 2014-01-12 01:19:24 +0300 )edit

@jgr I've converted many of my answers that were not actually answers when requested to do so (or when self realizing that they are not relevant anymore). The 300 char limit just means that the text had to be shortened first to fit as a comment. If an answer has comments already, it doesn't IMO prevent it to be changed / deleted. If an answer is not anymore in sync with the question (that might have been edited cause new info has appeared) of cause the correct answer should be change too (and the wrong / incorrect / irrelevant answers down-voted, changed, deleted or changed to a comment).

foss4ever ( 2014-01-12 01:28:54 +0300 )edit
4

I think @mikelima sums it up quite well in https://together.jolla.com/question/12325/code-of-conduct-down-voting (linking comments should be enabled):

What I do is:

  • I vote for proposals I agree with,
  • I do not vote for feature I don't care or I have no strong preference
  • I downvote proposals I feel detrimental

When I downvote, I leave a comment as for why I did it, because I feel an explanation should be given. Some question/feature request frol me got a few downvotes, and I still do not understand why that was controversial, and I don't want others to stay in the same doubt.

With my personal addition that if one doesn't understand the question or the answer one should ask for clarification and not down-vote because the question or answer doesn't make sense, is "stupid" (there are no stupid questions) or isn't really an answer but a comment (then it should be converted to a comment instead).

Mohjive ( 2014-01-12 01:50:31 +0300 )edit

5 Answers

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answered 2014-01-20 14:38:03 +0300

lk gravatar image

updated 2014-01-20 14:41:21 +0300

Shame I can't convert others' comments to answers, because there are a few good comments. This is one of them:

@Vaskinn said:

Incorrect answers should be downvoted. When it's expressing opinions it's better to upvote those you agree with and leave those you disagree with alone.

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answered 2014-01-20 14:40:56 +0300

lk gravatar image

Another good comment from @Mohjive:

I think @mikelima sums it up quite well in https://together.jolla.com/question/12325/code-of-conduct-down-voting (linking comments should be enabled): What I do is:

  • I vote for proposals I agree with,
  • I do not vote for feature I don't care or I have no strong preference
  • I downvote proposals I feel detrimental

When I downvote, I leave a comment as for why I did it, because I feel an explanation should be given. Some question/feature request frol me got a few downvotes, and I still do not understand why that was controversial, and I don't want others to stay in the same doubt.

With my personal addition that if one doesn't understand the question or the answer one should ask for clarification and not down-vote because the question or answer doesn't make sense, is "stupid" (there are no stupid questions) or isn't really an answer but a comment (then it should be converted to a comment instead).

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answered 2014-01-11 20:02:46 +0300

foss4ever gravatar image

updated 2014-01-14 08:15:05 +0300

Answers that are not really answers (or those that are plainly wrong or even harmful) should be considered to be downvoted and/or asked to be converted to comments or to be refrased, improved or corrected.

Also question / answer (down)vote should be regarded just as that (an opinion abt the topic), and not as a personal statement or comment for/against the poster.

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Comments

Hmm, just got a down-vote for this, wonder why?

foss4ever ( 2014-01-13 16:32:25 +0300 )edit

Because this is a typical newbie error. Just be polite and ask them to convert them to comments. You shouldn't scare them off. Be nice! No mercy with completely false answers. But again if just some detail is wrong ... be nice!

Aequanix ( 2014-01-13 17:47:08 +0300 )edit

Agree.. thats why I continued the statement with 'and/or asked to be converted to comments or improved'. I only down-vote them if despite of such comments the answer still stays there and gathers.votes. Also Answers can be deleted with no effect to karma, but in fact I think downvote is way better than removal cause it leaves the answer visible (even if not proper / valid).

foss4ever ( 2014-01-13 18:05:54 +0300 )edit
0

answered 2014-01-11 19:52:36 +0300

foss4ever gravatar image

updated 2014-01-11 19:56:54 +0300

Isn't the voting system here to express your preferences on the topics of the questions and answers? Vote if you like it, down-vote if you don't. A vote isn't harsh or polite it's just to give number of how many are (or want) to be in the same boat with the tone, content, attitide or solution in the question/answer. Sometimes problems seem to arise in cases where you downvote a question/answer AND try to explain it with a comment. In such cases it may happen that ppl get trapped to endless 'but why' or 'not a valid argument' type of conversations. Nevertheless, I think downvoting shouldn't be removed cause it is good alternative way to show personal preferences and hint about priorities regarding bugs, feature-requests and solutions presented here.

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answered 2014-01-11 20:00:17 +0300

foss4ever gravatar image

updated 2014-01-14 08:17:10 +0300

Don't know what the OP means by "anti-newbiesm" nor have I seen such behaviour here. I beleieve people here vote things they agree on, and down-vote if they disagree regardless of when or by whom the question / answer was posted.

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Asked: 2014-01-11 16:56:25 +0300

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Last updated: Jan 20 '14