16

OK, I've just got downvoted for an answer that was previously upvoted. I'm pretty sure my answer wasn't the best, yet not the worst. It was also not a subjective question and I got a little upset because...

One of the reasons I'm participating on discussion forums or hybrids like Stack Overflow is that I want to get some feedback for what (I think) I know. But, there are occasions in here where you have no idea why your response was bad and thus downvoted. I mean, a question is not about who gives the best answer; it is about learning from each other. If you downvote me, give me a reason for it. Don't be a coward or a selfish person that keeps all the knowledge for himself.

I've been searching on UserVoice and any proposal to enforce some feedback when downvoting was rejected, so I believe giving feedback for a downvote should be basic netiquette in here. If the system can't enforce it the we should rely on common sense. So...

When you downvote, please give feedback:

  • Say, "Hey, I downvoted you. It was me, ok? Now you know."
  • Say, "Hey, -1 because you said that."
  • Say, "Hey, that what you said is actually the other, -1"

It's not that funny to offer free consultation and letting ghosts assess your knowledge. I'm doing this for free, so I expect this to be a fair trade by receiving real feedback for free. I'm also convinced I'm not the only one having this problem, so please share your opinions.

I'm a little bit shocked. Within a minute after posting this "question" some people downvoted *almost all* of my questions (no subjective questions and I may say pretty hard to answer). So, some people are very touchy today although I didn't point the finger at anyone... I wouldn't have believed this could happen.
Improve this question
1
  • 1
    I tend to leave comments when I downvote below 0 unless there is another comment that explains my position. But sometimes I downvote because the answer is not as good as another answer with fewer votes. Don't forget that downvoting costs the voter as well.
    – Jon Ericson
    Mar 13, 2009 at 20:50

8 Answers 8

Reset to default
10

My suggestion is to not be too thin skinned about it. By participating in any social medium on the web, you'll be exposed to a lot of contrasting viewpoints and personalities.

Take the good out the experience. Don't worry about the down votes.

Improve this answer
1
  • 9
    i dont think he worries about down votes. he wants the feedback on why it was downvoted..
    – Gulzar
    Mar 1, 2009 at 19:08
4

Rule # 1 (echoing a very old rule)

Usenet is a very strange place. (s/usenet/stack\ overflow/)

Reputation is a neat way to keep people interested in answering questions and making edits where needed. I've heard that some recruiters now look for SO reputation .. if your reputation on some third party web site is such an issue, run like hell.

Rule # 2

Answering subjective questions is like taking a laxative in conjunction with a sleeping pill ... results observed when waking are undefined.

SO does have its 'digg/reddit' component, as such its going to inherit fly by voters. If you don't take it personally, it really does not matter.

Improve this answer
2
  • I'm not taking it personally (save for the downvotes on my other questions after posting this one). It's just that I feel I'm lacking some knowledge and don't know what it is. I'm curious.
    – Ionuț G. Stan
    Mar 1, 2009 at 19:19
  • By the way. Sometimes is hard to define subjective in the context of programming. For a given problem may be several solutions. Choosing one of them is subjective. Programming is not really Maths, but I get your point, which is valid.
    – Ionuț G. Stan
    Mar 1, 2009 at 19:41
3

Don't sweat it.

I got down-voted today for an informative answer because the person who down-voted didn't think my information was applicable or important enough for his specific environment/project, and after it had been up-voted... no biggie, it happens. There's going to be a cross-section of people, and I personally don't worry any more about expressing unpopular opinions; I'm not trying to be #1 on anyone's hit parade, I'm just trying to provide helpful info.

Improve this answer
1
  • @Nick, at least you found out why you were downvoted while I didn't. I'm not saying do not downvote me, I just want to know why.
    – Ionuț G. Stan
    Mar 1, 2009 at 19:23
3

I guess people don't have much time to leave feedback. It does make you think a bit though and comparing with other upvoted answers is itself a good feedback..

Improve this answer
2
  • Compared to the time it takes to read a question, then read an answer, and then deciding that it should be down voted, leaving feedback doesn't take that long. It takes less then a minute to leave a simple "I down voted you because of this..." comment.
    – DeadHead
    Mar 1, 2009 at 19:32
  • for simple straightforward ones, I agree. but not always easy to "write down" your explanation.. and i agree with another post, if you force a user to enter something, he might just enter some junk.
    – Gulzar
    Mar 1, 2009 at 19:54
3

Nothing, just accept it. If you force users to give a reason you will get always get some people writing any old garbage, in the same way that they fill in fake email / postal address info when '* required' to.

Improve this answer
1
  • I guess you're totally right and indeed there's not much to do about this.
    – Ionuț G. Stan
    Mar 1, 2009 at 19:21
1

There's already been a popular UserVoice request to force users to comment when they downvote. It was declined.

Improve this answer
1
  • I know. I wrote about it in my "manifesto".
    – Ionuț G. Stan
    Mar 1, 2009 at 19:25
0

I get downvoted for all sorts of reasons, mainly swearing but you have remember there are many different people out there with completely different minds and ideas so your thoughts will always irk some.

Improve this answer
0

People are going to downvote answers and unfortunately it happens. It isn't limited to certain people, and it is localized to answers. Now it's true some closures and downvotes don't make sense, but this is something you will have to live with and attempt to avoid being bitter about. Your point of view is not always agreed with by everyone or anyone else.

In any case I still believe suggestions like this do belong on UserVoice, but personally I can see why any previous suggestion was rejected. I personally don't feel votes need an explanation or a justification. I think as long as we all act reasonably then the site will work as intended.

Improve this answer

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .