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I think I was just serial downvoted…how can this prevented by the community?

Some minutes ago, I've posted a interesting question about the process to send a file using jQuery to the server that you can follow in How to send a file to a server using JSON and jQuery.

I'm asking to know about the process or about the tricks to solve my issue. I've mentioned clearlly that I'm interested in the process, not about components. I am just interested in the process, and a guy with the name "John Strickler" answered sugesting the "Valums" plugin. I've voted it down, because as I've mentioned, I'm not looking for plugins, but for knowledge about the process!

Stangely, after I voted down the answer almost immediately my other questions got voted down, passing from my profile reputation from 278 to 261.

Well, it looks like a payback, is it normal on a place like this? I have used this interesting place for a while, because it is very useful and found a lot of interesting ideas, but is the first time that I find someone with this kind of "bad loosing".

My question is just about how to proceed to denunciate this "inappropriated" beahvior?

There is the John Strickler profile: https://stackoverflow.com/users/292614/john-strickler

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    Also see: meta.stackexchange.com/questions/92778/…
    – M'vy
    May 26, 2011 at 18:26
  • @Jeff a simple glimpse at Flavio's profile clearly indicates a serial downvote (8 today, only two additional ones in all his history) Edit: I was answering a deleted comment.
    – Aleadam
    May 26, 2011 at 19:25

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To answer part of your question, payback behavior is definitely not acceptable here. However, I think perhaps you too quick in assigning blame. Although you may have grounds for suspicion, there is no way for you to know who actually down-voted your posts. If I look at the profile of the person you cite, I see three very recent down-votes of his questions. One might jump to the conclusion that this was your doing. (If so, and I hope not, please consider that you are complaining about exactly this kind of behavior.)

For what to do about it if you believe that you are the target of voting abuse, please read the FAQ, particularly the section titled "What if I see bad things happening?"

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  • well, i've really no way to know that, but stangelly he was the only one downvote on that question. i'm just looking to know what should i do to prevent this, nothing more.
    – Flavio CF Oliveira
    May 26, 2011 at 18:45
  • How do you know that the downvote came from him? There's no public record of such things. (I know that I have on occasion left a negative comment without voting, while someone else anonymously down-voted the same post. This happens a lot, I believe.)
    – Ted Hopp
    May 26, 2011 at 20:15
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    Strange coincidence, after a lot of days of stable reputation (with the same value), seconds after i downvote an answer, stangelly all my previous questions was downvoted. well, it happened for some kind of reason, but it seams to be a little bit obvious!?
    – Flavio CF Oliveira
    May 26, 2011 at 20:28
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Most people are only answering your question in an honest effort to HELP you. Simply telling them, "thanks, but it's not what I'm looking for." is more than enough. Down-voting legitimate answers to your own question shows a sense of entitlement and a lack of appreciation.

(edit: My defined usage of "legitimate" above: any honest answer that is not rude or nonsensical. The community will vote on poor quality answers.)

There is not much you can do about somebody down-voting you in retaliation but if somebody makes an inappropriate or rude comment, please flag it for moderation.

EDIT: Please explain the down-votes to my answer. My advice is not specific to the OP's particular SO question and the answer he down-voted. The answer is no longer there so I cannot judge whether it was legitimate or snarky; I can only go by what the OP has posted here.

EDIT 2: If one really believes a down-vote on an answer to their own question is deserved, perhaps post a comment first. Maybe the answerer will update his answer and provide more help in follow-up. Pulling the trigger immediately will eliminate any chance of further help from that individual on this question and discourage new answers from him on anything you may post in the future.

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  • I dunno about legitimate, I don't think John's answer was helpful nor do I think it answered his question. (edit: not to mention John's snarky comment)
    – user7116
    May 26, 2011 at 18:30
  • Still, I tend to agree with this. If in doubt, let the community do the voting. Related discussion from today (with opinions for and against): Unpleasent comment after downvoting an answer
    – Pekka
    May 26, 2011 at 18:31
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    The answer is not there so I have no idea about the quality of his answer or if it was really snarky.
    – Sparky
    May 26, 2011 at 18:33
  • I'll put it back for you.
    – John Strickler
    May 26, 2011 at 18:35
  • well, i've been downvoted "one or other time" but it does not legitimate my actions if i decide downvote all questions of this particular user like a payback, i think that think that i've to learn about the way that can help other people [if i'm not sore about something i will not suggest something that can generate more confusion]. BUT i understand and agree with your point of view that some people makes a honest effortto helpme.
    – Flavio CF Oliveira
    May 26, 2011 at 18:38
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    @sixlettervariables: It may not have been high quality or what the OP was seeking but I think one should leave the judgement of legitimacy to the community when it's an answer to their own question.
    – Sparky
    May 26, 2011 at 18:43
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    @Sparky672, the voting system on the SO answers does not measure the willingness of the answerer, but the quality of the answer itself, so it is perfectly acceptable to downvote an answer that clearly does not address the question. Voting is a free option (if you have the minimum rep) and subject only to the user's judgement. Thus, I will not comment about the specific answer from John. And, BTW, votes here in MSO have a different meaning, close to "I agree" and "I disagree" rather than "this is (isn't) a good answer".
    – Aleadam
    May 26, 2011 at 18:48
  • @Sparky672: I guess then I fall into a different camp, where the question of legitimacy is as much the burden of the OP as it is the community (after all the OP is a member of the community). But to your point if the OP didn't have any clue about the domain, they probably should not be downvoting a potentially legitimate answer.
    – user7116
    May 26, 2011 at 18:51
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    @Aleadam, thank-you for the clarification, I appreciate it. It's just my opinion... when people are answering my own questions, I usually thank them for trying to help me even if it's not what I looking for. As also stated here, I totally agree, a down-vote by the OP himself, I think is rude- not much different than panhandling and throwing back coins that aren't shiny enough.
    – Sparky
    May 26, 2011 at 18:55
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    @sixlettervariables: I totally see your point. The burden is indeed on everyone to make sure the information posted on SO is of a higher quality. In my wording above, I intended "legitimate" much more loosely, as meaning anything honestly answered that isn't pure non-sense. Yesterday, I came across two questions so poorly worded, any answer would have been a pure guess. Even after prompting the OP's to clarify what they were asking, they still felt compelled to argue with and down-vote people only trying to help them. This kind of rude non-sense needs to be discouraged.
    – Sparky
    May 26, 2011 at 19:04
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    @Sparky I do not deny some rudeness in that behavior. Anyway, I went ahead and looked at the original question. If the OP states "I've found some upload plugins (...) but what I really want to know is how the process works, not just use something already created by someone!", then an answer proposing a plugin is as rude as the downvote. It means that the answerer did not take the time to even read the question.
    – Aleadam
    May 26, 2011 at 19:08
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    @Aleadam, Yes, I somewhat agree and I down-vote those when I see them... I'm just not inclined to down-vote it when it's an answer to my own question. They took the time to answer me, presumably with an intent to help. Maybe I'll post a comment reminding them it's not really what I asked for and see if they follow-up or edit the answer. All that would go out the window with my down-vote.
    – Sparky
    May 26, 2011 at 19:16
  • @Sparky indeed I believe yours is a much better attitude, and one that probably will receive better input in the end. I also agree that you should be inclined to avoid down-voting the answers to your own questions, but I do not consider that a rule. If the answer is really off, then I believe a down-vote is in order. But, as with anything, what is "really off" is a matter of individual judgement.
    – Aleadam
    May 26, 2011 at 19:21
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    @Aleadam- Yes, totally. And after all the bad behavior I saw yesterday, I'm beginning to wonder what happened to some individual judgement.
    – Sparky
    May 26, 2011 at 19:26
  • @Sparky I was not around MSO yesterday much, so I am unaware of what happened yesterday.
    – Aleadam
    May 26, 2011 at 19:30

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