Despite the fact that votes mean something different on meta, or at least _can_ mean something different on meta, the mouse over text when hovering over the up/down vote buttons on meta sites is the same as in the main sites:

> ![This question shows research effort; it is useful and clear][1]

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> ![This question does not show any research effort; it is unclear or not useful][2]
 
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> ![This answer is useful][3]

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> ![This answer is not useful][4]

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We all know we get an inordinate amount of whining about downvotes, I have often had to explain to new users on different sites that downvoting on meta means something different. It simply means that "I don't agree with your proposal". Could we make that more explicit in the mouse over text? Perhaps something like:

* Questions

    > This question is useful/I agree with it

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    > This question is not useful/I disagree with it

* Answers

    > This answer is useful/I agree with it

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    > This answer is not useful/I disagree with it

I am not hung up about the wording, I am sure it can be improved. what I'd like to see is a message clearly explaining that downvotes on meta sites are something you should take even less offense at than downvotes on main sites. I feel that would help new users understand how meta sites work better and might even decrease the whining.

I am aware of http://meta.stackoverflow.com/q/75049/203101; however, that recommends changing it completely and while it has overwhelming support, the only "official" answer (which has been downvoted to oblivion) argues that this is not a good idea because not _all_ meta posts are things one can agree or disagree about. Fine, in that case why not have a message like the above (or a better worded version thereof)? We already have two separate reasons for voting on questions, based on either clarity or usefulness, so why not simply take a similar approach on meta, giving more than one reason to vote one way or the other?


  [1]: https://i.sstatic.net/2D2rw.png
  [2]: https://i.sstatic.net/WM2HA.png
  [3]: https://i.sstatic.net/M68nG.png
  [4]: https://i.sstatic.net/nQIk7.png