
Ask HN: When Should We Use Down Votes? - tenpoundhammer
Should we use the down vote if:
If we disagree with the opinion ?
If the premise is factually incorrect ?
If the item is poorly written ?
Whenever&#x2F;however we want?<p>What is the proper use of the downvote?
======
joshuapants
I don't think a down vote should be used for simple disagreement, because
there's no point in having a one-sided discussion. If there's a factual error,
correct it in a comment. I think down votes should be used on things that are:

a) Utterly pointless (memes, insults, trolling, etc)

or

b) Spam

~~~
Joona
For comments, if it does not contribute to the discussion at all, it should
(probably) be downvoted.

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logn
I usually only downvote purely out of disagreement if the person trotted out
some argument that everyone who disagrees with them has heard before, so that
I don't leave the response everyone already knows that rebuts it. E.g., the
old pro-/anti-GPL debate. Downvoting lets you get satisfaction without
dignifying a dumb thread with a response.

Also I downvote things that are just conversational, low content,
inflammatory. But I don't downvote a lot, only when the comments seem to be
derailing things.

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anigbrowl
It varies. I very rarely downvote something just because I disagree with it,
but will do so freely if it's based on an obvious fallacy or false premise, or
it's pointlessly rude or antagonistic. I try not to do so too often, but I
don't actually know my ratio of up- to down-votes, so I'm probably a bit more
negative in practice than this idealized concept.

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brudgers
Downvotes are polymorphic. I downvote what needs downvoting. Recognize that
some things trigger downvoting because of what someone else did and some
things trigger downvoting because of what I might do otherwise, A down vote is
better for HN than my passion fueled contrary opinion to something wrong on
the internet.

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chatmasta
Reasons I downvote comments fall into two categories:

1\. Poor etiquette

2\. Poor writing

Examples of poor etiquette:

\- Obvious self promotion that adds nothing to discussion

\- Any mention of "downvote" in the comment body

\- "Flamebait" and clearly mean-spirited remarks

Examples of poor writing:

\- Completely off-topic, especially if at top of thread

\- Factually incorrect

\- Extraordinary claim without extraoridinary evidence

\- Ambiguous language or poor wording that leads to confusion

\- Aggressive conclusions based on faulty logic

I try to avoid downvoting for emotional reasons. Just because I disagree with
a comment does not mean it's wrong. I have noticed a trend, especially around
NSA/government/surveillance/conspiracy type comments, where people will
downvote logical arguments without refuting them. This is not good for
discussion. If you disagree with a comment, try to understand its author
before reflexively downvoting. An equally logical reply contributes far more
to discussion than a downvote.

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blueflow
I usually downvote:

\- Bad quality content

\- Factually incorrect or unscientific

\- Clickbait and misleading titles

\- Spam

\- non-tech political Stuff

\- shaming, whining, blaming

\- too personal centered content

In one: Everthing that doesn't contributes to a tech-centered professional
news site.

