this post was submitted on 29 Nov 2024
119 points (83.2% liked)

Ask Lemmy

27240 readers
2334 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions


Rules: (interactive)


1) Be nice and; have funDoxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them


2) All posts must end with a '?'This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?


3) No spamPlease do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.


4) NSFW is okay, within reasonJust remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].


5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.


6) No US Politics.
Please don't post about current US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world or !askusa@discuss.online


Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Tech Support

No Stupid Questions

You Should Know

Reddit

Jokes

Ask Ouija


Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu


founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Because to me, they seem like de facto "Agree and "Disagree" buttons, whether or not it was the intent.

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] normalexit@lemmy.world 74 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

That's how I treat them. Maybe with a bit more nuance: I'll upvote for something funny, informative things, or general good takes. I'll downvote if someone has a bad take, is unnecessarily mean, or is generally incoherent.

If the comment doesn't spark a reaction I just keep scrolling.

[–] HonoraryMancunian@lemmy.world 13 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Often too I'll upvote a highly downvoted comment because I don't think it deserved to be downvoted as much as it was, even if it's one I'd otherwise downvote. Unless it's horrible, in which case I'll pile the fuck on

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Wrufieotnak@feddit.org 6 points 3 weeks ago

What you say and what you describe are not the same. Your explanation is literally how it was explained on the other site. So you are better than you think you are. =)

And I do it the same as you. Something I disagree with or don't like but is reasonably argued and not mean or full of any -isms? No vote from me.

[–] NegentropicBoy@lemmy.world 53 points 3 weeks ago (10 children)

"Agree and “Disagree” will just leave us in a Lemmy bubble.

They should be more about "good post or bad post", so something that may be disagreeable gets upvotes if it is well stated.

Reward thought, creativity, etc, and let us all learn.

[–] Brewchin@lemmy.world 27 points 3 weeks ago

Agreed.

  • Upvote: Adds to the community.
  • Downvote: Doesn't belong in this community.
[–] remon@ani.social 8 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (5 children)

They should be more about “good post or bad post”, so something that may be disagreeable gets upvotes if it is well stated.

I don't care how well stated some anti-vax or flat-earth bullshit is ... It'll get downvoted regardless because I disagree.

load more comments (5 replies)
load more comments (7 replies)
[–] helmet91@lemmy.world 40 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

I thought so too, but about a year ago or so this same question popped up, and some of the comments were really eye opening.

The essence of it was something like this: if you use the upvote/downvote buttons as agree/disagree, then you're contributing to turning this platform into an echo chamber, which is the particular thing that makes social media such a shitty place.

You should use this feature on posts to indicate if it's relevant to the community's rules or not, meets the community's guidelines or not, contains factual, useful information or not.

On comments, you should use it to indicate if it's relevant to the topic or not, valid argument to what they're replying to or not, regardless of your own opinion.

A great example someone commented was, when he explained they were browsing lemmy together with his girlfriend, they had a great laugh at a comment, and then he promptly downvoted it, to her surprise. And it's because, even though the comment was fantastic, it was off topic, it wasn't useful for the actual conversation.

Oh, and actually, there was a thing, even on Reddit - believe it or not - which acted as upvote/downvote guidelines, describing how you should use those buttons.

I'll try to link the original post here if I find it.

Edit: Here's the comment I was referring to on the original post: https://lemmy.world/comment/5219066

[–] warm@kbin.earth 30 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

I upvote content that may be useful or interesting to others, content I agree with and good jokes.

I try to only downvote spam, misinformation and any troll content.

[–] TexasDrunk@lemmy.world 5 points 3 weeks ago

This is far more succinct than I could have put it. Same.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] thisisbutaname@discuss.tchncs.de 29 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

They should be "this is worthy to be seen by many" and "this is not". Sometimes that also overlaps with my agreement with the post.

[–] Shortstack@reddthat.com 6 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

This is how I use the vote arrows too.

I think I've gotten a little idealistic since moving to lemmy because I definitely used the votes as agree/disagree on Reddit, because it was clear that was what the hivemind decided it was for, who was I to argue.

[–] 13esq@lemmy.world 5 points 3 weeks ago

It was literally in the reddiquette that you're not supposed to use them like that, but in practice, you're absolutely right and that's how they're used.

[–] sem@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 3 weeks ago

In the olden days there was 'reddiquette' which still existed on smaller, non default subs. You'd downvote poor contributions and up vote good ones

[–] schnurrito@discuss.tchncs.de 26 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

There are many ways people use them.

The way I use them and I wish everyone did is:

Upvote = I agree with this, this is what I would have posted too if I had seen the comment earlier, this is extraordinarily funny or insightful and I want more people to see it

Downvote = I think this doesn't meaningfully contribute to the discussion at all, it would have been better if it hadn't been posted, others shouldn't have to read it

The vast majority of things doesn't fall into either of these categories, so I neither upvote nor downvote them; if I merely disagree with something, I write a counterargument but do not downvote.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] dance_ninja@lemmy.world 19 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Upvote: I agree at least for the most part.

Downvote: I have problems with the general content, or the source of the content.

No vote: I'm not going to downvote you, but I don't have to upvote you either.

[–] littletranspunk@lemmus.org 4 points 3 weeks ago

No vote is the best way to let something just die out. Any sort of engagement would make it higher in the popular "hot" category so no action is the best for "this is shit and no one should see it".

[–] dandelion@lemmy.blahaj.zone 19 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (3 children)

Sometimes. I think the meaning of the arrows are somewhat contextual.

Downvoting spam for example isn't "disagreement", but it is a kind of disapproval.

Upvoting your post isn't "agreement", but I do it because I think it's an interesting question (maybe a kind of approval)?

If we generalized I guess we could ask whether upvotes are always relating positive emotion (approval, agreement, joy, etc.) and downvotes always relating negative emotion (disagreement, disapproval, anger, etc.)?

That is, are upvotes "yays" and downvotes "boos"?

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] Zachariah@lemmy.world 18 points 3 weeks ago

They’re “I want to see more like this” and “I want to see less like this” buttons.

[–] MimicJar@lemmy.world 18 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

For posts, upvote means I want more of this, that's some good content. Downvote means I want less of this, that's some bad content.

For comments, upvote means good point, good joke, excellent addition to the conversation. Downvote means bad point, bad joke, poor addition to the conversation.

Now I admit I have a hard time upvoting a comment that adds a good point to the discussion, but I personally disagree with.

I do wish we had a way to separate good/bad content from agree/disagree. I know Reddit defaulted to hiding downvoted content, a default that I found reasonable. However using Lemmy, that wasn't the default, and I've grown to prefer seeing all content. Don't get me wrong, I see some garbage, and I see stuff I disagree with, but I think it's useful.

[–] SmoothLiquidation@lemmy.world 6 points 3 weeks ago

I still like the old slashdot method where there were categories you could give to a comment. Was this insightful, or was it funny. I think the method has merits but I am not sure how well it scales as it is more complicated and requires the people moderating to give serious thought to WHY a comment is good or bad.

[–] dream_weasel@sh.itjust.works 16 points 3 weeks ago

Yes. That's how people use it, so that's what it is. The original intention doesn't matter.

[–] Lauchs@lemmy.world 16 points 3 weeks ago

Shouldn't be but they tend to be.

Sometimes people just straight up use them as agree/disagree buta lot of folks struggle to admit that an argument in favour of something with which they disagree can still be a worthwhile argument.

[–] PlzGivHugs@sh.itjust.works 15 points 3 weeks ago

An upvote should be for quality content/discussion. This might be a well researched comment, a good joke, or just something that leads the discussion in a meaningful or interesting way. Generally, things I think should be valued or shared. There will obviously be bias, but my opinion isn't the basis of my decision. I try to upvote good-faith or thorough arguments I disagree with.

Downvotes are for low-quality and unhelpful content that I think shouldn't be spread. This doesn't have to be irrelevant or against the community rules, but often is. Things I might downvote include overused reposts, unnecessarily rude or insulting comments, low quality comments (IE someone trying to argue a well cited comment with an anecdote and nothing else), or spam.

[–] Bezier@suppo.fi 14 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

Do you mean by seem that people here seem to use them like that, or that they just seem like that to you?

I try to reserve downvotes for people who are actively harming the discussion. Downvoting good comments just because you disagree is pretty shit behaviour, and I guess the same could be said about upvoting bad comments because you agree with the opinion.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] Max_P@lemmy.max-p.me 13 points 3 weeks ago

They do sometimes end up used as agree/disagree buttons, but they're intended to be more about whether it's good content that provides some value, and downvotes are when you don't provide any value. This leave room for disagreement without downvoting a well written post that does add to the discussion.

I use downvotes for spam, and posts/comments what are just plainly wrong, incorrect, misleading or dangerous. Stuff I think is good gets upvoted, and stuff I disagree with but there's otherwise nothing wrong with it, I don't vote.

[–] olafurp@lemmy.world 12 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

My upvotes are for posts I like, downvotes I don't really use except when the content is factually wrong or misleading

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] aeronmelon@lemmy.world 12 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

If a story about someone getting hurt because X is posted, you don’t downvote it because you dislike what happened, you upvote it because it’s important information that should be shared.

If someone makes a civilized and measured argument that you don’t agree with, you don’t downvote it because you disagree with their stance, you upvote it because it’s worthwhile discussion and all viewpoints deserve to be heard.

If you’re unsure how to feel about something, you can just not vote on it and scroll on. Unfortunately, there are apps that hide things when you vote. Some people are trained to always vote as a way of clearing their feed.

And other social media has spent decades training people that up means like and down means dislike. So the distinction that places like Lemmy or Reddit have from places like YouTube or Facebook is always going to be hard to convey to the many, many people who have been taught to think otherwise.

[–] ohwhatfollyisman@lemmy.world 5 points 3 weeks ago

this fairly informative response has downvotes, ironically.

downvoting something only because you disagree with its contents is a sign of immaturity. it screams, "i personally don't like this viewpoint so i'll do everything in my power to suppress it from everyone else.".

the mature response would be to leave the voting buttons alone and provide instead a measured response of the reasons for your disagreement.

[–] nokturne213@sopuli.xyz 11 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

There are no up or down vote police. You use them as you like.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Aurix@lemmy.world 11 points 3 weeks ago

They shouldn't be used as such, but frequently are. It is even more difficult to distinguish between disagreement and insufficient argumentation.

[–] Nomad@infosec.pub 10 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

The buttons control post visibility, so the question to ask is: do I want to boost this posts visibility? And then the crowd vote decides if the post is controversial which also boosts visibility.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] 13esq@lemmy.world 9 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (2 children)

Practically yes, despite the way that they ought to be used.

It's such a shame. Lemmy should be a place where we can collectively share ideas and debate openly. Comments and posts should only ever be downvoted if they're off topic, hateful or misleading. However, in reality people get downvoted mostly because someone simply doesn't like or wholly agree with them.

It's still better here than reddits awful circlejerks and echo chambers, but not by much and we should be wary of devolving to a state where people are disincentivized to post because they have an idea or opinion that may only be slightly off kilter to the hive mind.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] SkyNTP@lemmy.ml 9 points 3 weeks ago

I generally upvote when I see a comment that makes a good point I think is underrated. You could argue that this is a kind of agreement. But, in my view, agreement alone is not the only criteria. Stating obvious truths isn't really worth anyone's time, even if they are agreeable. I will also upvote posts that changed my mind or are close to doing so, or impress me (insightful, or funny).

I down vote spam and posts that misrepresent a position or argument (straw man).

I will not vote at all for most posts.

[–] lemmyng@lemmy.ca 9 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

No, that's the [other place] mentality. Upvote if you want to increase visibility to the post. For example, there may be a post with a link to an article about some politician doing something I disagree with. I would still upvote it if the post allows me to discuss why I disagree with said action.

Downvote if the content is harmful to the community (for example spam, overt racism, etc).

[–] wesker@lemmy.sdf.org 13 points 3 weeks ago

No, that's the [other place] mentality.

Nah, it's the same exact nonsense here too.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] missingno@fedia.io 8 points 3 weeks ago

This is a question of prescriptivism vs. descriptivism. People might say they shouldn't be used as such, but I'll bet a lot of people who say that are guilty of doing it anyway.

[–] remon@ani.social 8 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

It really depends on where you use them.

In some communities I'll use upvotes as a way to track which posts I've seen.

In news communties I always downvote tabloid sources and clickbait headlines, regardless of content.

But when it comes to the comments, it's mostly an agree/disagree button.

[–] venusaur@lemmy.world 8 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

Not quite. Upvote means “I agree I like butt licking” and downvote means “I agree I like butt sex.” Easy to confuse the two.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] leanleft@lemmy.ml 8 points 3 weeks ago

dopamine button

[–] theherk@lemmy.world 8 points 3 weeks ago

They are just buttons, and you have volition. If you use the down arrow as “agree” and up arrow as “I hate your family” it still works. The aggregate of community usage of buttons give them meaning.

[–] kitnaht@lemmy.world 7 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (3 children)

I honestly wish there was a moderation system like Slashdot. You got a limited number of points each week, and you could vote comments "Insightful, Informative, Funny, Overrated, Spam" etc. Comments, etc could go up to +5 or down to -1; and you get a slider to determine at what point value comments are hidden at (+4, +2, etc)

It makes it so people can't be buried into the ether by brigading (they'd have to keep up a sustained downvote campaign to continually knock it down to -1), and can 'come back from the dead' so-to-speak, and also allows categorization of comments and may even allow the filtering of joke-comments so that conversations stay on topic or just so that you engage with the serious content instead of low-quality stuff. This encourages people to comment more genuinely and productively.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] leanleft@lemmy.ml 7 points 3 weeks ago

fake activism button

[–] spankmonkey@lemmy.world 7 points 3 weeks ago

They are "hell yeah" and "fuck no" buttons.

[–] bear@lemmynsfw.com 6 points 3 weeks ago

No. Good content: up. Bad content: down.

[–] Free_Opinions@feddit.uk 6 points 3 weeks ago

It's the "I like/don't like the sound of that button"

load more comments
view more: next ›