
Ask HN: Anyone else miss not having a downvote button? - AndrewMoffat
I recently broke the karma threshold to get the downvote link on comments.  I'm finding myself not only not using it, but feeling slightly burdened by even having it, in that I now read comments, I find myself thinking (if only in the back of my mind) "is this something I should downvote?"<p>It's a small nitpick, and I think it's cool that downvotes are delayed from new users to prevent abuse, but not having the option to downvote for so long (~1 year) has me beginning to think that doing away with all downvotes altogether isn't necessarily a bad thing.  Anyone else agree?
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mike-cardwell
Stick this in a GreaseMonkey script and watch the downvote buttons disappear:

    
    
      var a=document.getElementsByTagName('a');
      for(var i in a){
        if(a[i].href &&
          a[i].href.match(/^http:\/\/news\.ycombinator\.com\/vote\?for=\d+&dir=down/))
          a[i].style.display='none'
      }

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ctdonath
If nothing else, we need a way to downvote posts which are objectively wrong.

Nothing wrong with having an earned downvote if you in fact think somber
thoughts about using it.

I could perhaps support a change to earning each downvote, further encouraging
contemplation ("do I really want to burn a downvote on _this_?").

~~~
HeyLaughingBoy
Rather than simply downvoting something that is wrong, explain _why_ it's
wrong. That contributes to the discussion.

I reserve downvoting for useless comments (e.g., "me 2") or ad-hominem or
other offensive attacks.

~~~
mixmastamyk
Exactly. Nothing worse than when well-intentioned comments get downvoted
because the downvoter is in fact wrong, or didn't bother to read the comment
thoroughly. After years on Slashdot and Reddit, I've not encountered the
amount of negativity toward the average comment as I have here.

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da5e
I've noticed that there is no downvoting allowed on comments on your own
submissions. I think that's a good idea. I think downvoting is important. I'd
like to see when a comment has been downvoted. I also miss the karma points
being shown. More indicators like that create a richer, more Minority Report
feel for reading HN.

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r00fus
I also rarely downvote.

It's a pain on the iPad when the buttons are so small, I feel nervous unless I
pinch-zoom the button to be really large... I have inadvertently downvoted
when I meant to upvote on numerous occasions.

Consequently, I simply don't rate while reading HN in bed.

It would be nice to have an opt-out just like hiding dead.

~~~
SkyMarshal
Second that. I'd much rather have the ability to undo a vote like Reddit. I
rarely misvote, but hate it when I do.

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smokestack
I guess it could be seen as an "extra vote" for HN veterans, by separating
good and bad content a little further apart. I haven't really seen it being
abused.

I'd really like to see downvotes removed altogether, while assigning extra
weight to upvotes proportional to the voter's karma.

~~~
leon_
> while assigning extra weight to upvotes proportional to the voter's karma

if you make power users too powerful you end up with digg.

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kstenerud
I haven't accumulated enough frequent flyer points to downvote yet. Not sure
(and don't really care) how many I need, but when I do get it in a year or
two, I doubt I'd downvote anything except obvious trolls.

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code_duck
It seems some people downvote that with which they disagree, others downvote
for spelling errors. I try to reserve it for blatant abuse.

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dpcan
Don't use it.

But when the opportunity presents itself, you will KNOW that it's time to use
it.

~~~
Sakes
I agree, the only time you should use it is when you are 100% sure that the
comment needs a down vote. If you have to think about it, then it doesn't need
to be down voted.

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sixtofour
"is this something I should downvote?"

Just tell yourself to be very stingy with downvotes. Then only the most
egregious posts will call attention to themselves.

Be stingy.

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arkitaip
I'm pretty cautious when it comes to downvoting. A comment would have to
factually incorrect, FUD, abusive or utterly pointless and stupid for me to
downvote it. If in doubt, I just leave the comment be to the mercy of other
HN'ers. Another option is to upvote a child comment so there's more balance in
the discussion.

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namank
I feel downvotes are cool as long as they don't affect a post's popularity and
are only used to as a tool for teaching posters about this forum's tacit
rules.

After that you can (maybe) pose a filter on something that has >10 downvotes.
1-3 downvotes should not affect a post(er)'s credibility.

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daimyoyo
IMHO downvotes are a weapon of last resort. I rarely downvote anything unless
it's something I genuinely think adds nothing to the conversation on the
thread(as an aside, I don't downvote dissenting opinions as long as they're
presented intelligently), or is inflammatory.

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Swannie
I try and reserve down votes for abuse, blatant trolling, etc.

Sometimes I find it hard not to down vote on objective things. Especially when
the poster has completely missed the point and is getting carried away -
potentially they trolling, but not doing it very well! :-)

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impendia
I have at times made inflammatory, sarcastic comments on topics about which I
knew little, and then gotten downvoted for it.

It was annoying, and it pissed me off a little at the time, but in retrospect
I deserved it.

