"Begging for votes" vs. "Reminding for upvotes" vs. "Reminding for acceptance"

Question

Are "Begging for votes" and "Reminding for upvotes" equivalent?

If so, and given that "Begging for votes" (="Reminding for upvotes", assumed) is generally looked down upon then a second question is brought.

I wonder why some find annoying that others try to help the community by a reminder for an upvote in any case without distinction. Moreover, I wonder why they find it more annoying than a comparable reminder for accepting an answer, which seems to be ok. The two look very similar to me. The interest behind any of these may be reputation with helping as a side effect, or helping with reputation as a side effect. And in any of the two cases, with or without technical merit, that is a completely separate issue. So,

What is the explanation for this differentiated perception?

I wouldn’t dare judging intentions, in general, and in particular if the outcome is useful for the community, and the inquiry is respectful. Some of these reminders may easily not fit the definition of rep-whoring: Stack Overflow users who post questions or answers for the sole benefit of accumulating as many reputation points as possible, without regard to the technical merit or the contribution to the system, and this is probably the cause of some acceptance.

PS: I found some questions that are related to this one, but none that seemed a possible duplicate.

EDIT

PS2: I do have an opinion (made explicit), but I am looking for answers (whatever they may be) to the specific questions asked, so they would be useful for the community (including myself), to separate the wheat from the chaff. I take an answer that addresses the questions and clarifies as useful (even in dissent).

Answer 1

As with most questions of etiquette, it depends largely on the situation. Think of it like a waiter asking for a tip vs. informing a tourist that it is customary to tip waiters in the region.

In the first case it seems a bit presumptuous, perhaps the waiter wasn't very good and didn't really deserve a tip, or perhaps the waiter was good but the customer was offended at the implication that they wouldn't leave a tip. In either case a good waiter knows not to ask. If the customer is familiar with the custom and was happy with the service they'll tip as they see fit.

In the other case, say you had a friend visiting from overseas who wasn't familiar with the custom, it may be appropriate for you to inform your friend of the custom, but not to press him or her with any expectation that a tip must be left. If it were me, I would probably politely and quietly leave a tip for them.

What has all that got to do with voting?

Asking for up votes is a bit like the waiter who asks for a tip. People will likely not respond or they may even respond negatively, just because they were asked.

Informing people about how the vote/accept system works is a bit more like telling your tourist friend about the custom. It should never be done with the tone that they must do anything and in most cases its probably better to just drop an upvote on the answer you like rather than telling them to do so.

If the answer in question belongs to you, you're much more likely to be seen as the presumptuous waiter than the informative friend. If you get a "thanks that works great" type comment it may be seen as appropriate, by some, to inform a new user about the custom of accepting an answer, but pushing for an upvote as well is pushing your luck.

Asking for an upvote is more like a waiter seeing the tip on the table and chasing down the customer to tell them that it wasn't enough, which is likely considered rude in most all regions.

If your service was really that good the community will eventually leave a good tip.

Answer 2

Your idea of “Reminding for upvotes” might just be my idea of “Begging for votes." If you ask someone who's been around the block a few times to upvote you, it just gets painted differently.

I really wish everyone would assume that everyone else knows exactly how the system work, then to focus on the meat of Stack - answers.

Overall though, apaul34208's answer is perfect. Upvotes really are tips. Heck, nobody owes me anything and I personally consider the 15 points for an accepted to be a tip too.