Be a better lemming

One of the things that sets Lemmy, and the collective fediverse apart from other platforms is its community. Recently, there’s been a large influx of new users (myself included; thus I apologize if this is not the right location for this post). A toxic trait associated with other platforms is the incorrect use of the downvote. Historically, this function was used to hide comments that detracted from the conversation; however, next to no one uses it as intended, and it’s primarily used as a I disagree with you button.

I don’t think we’ll ever change how the downvote is used now - it’s current use is too entrenched. Instead, I suggest that rather than just downvoting and moving on with something you disagree with, that users expand on why they disagree with the post or comment. Not only does this generate more content, but it also can take the conversation into new areas and offer new perspectives that the OP had not considered. You might even actually change a mind or two by doing so, thus bringing people around to see your side of the coin. Commenting (with civility) on stuff you don’t agree with is beneficial on all fronts. It promotes discussion, and it offers new perspectives. It also minimizes the likelihood of echo chambers forming. That last bit is what I’ve come to value here the most. Other sites are just massive echo chambers where there’s a rote response or opinion. This creates a stale environment for users, and deters people from commenting. Why comment, when you know what the answer will be, or that you’ll be jumped on at the first word of disagreement with the entrenched opinion?

But what if I don’t have time to comment to support my downvote? Simple - don’t downvote unless the item you’re downvoting truly detracts from the conversation (as per the functions original intent).

I realize this is a bit of a rant/ramble, but I think by actively putting more effort into our comments and downvotes, we can make lemmy an even richer community than it already is.

Thanks for taking the time to read,

  • Shovel
fiofiofio,
fiofiofio avatar

Counterpoint: a lot of people on Reddit complain about “you’re just downvoting because you disagree with me” when they’re being downvoted for spreading misinformation, being unnecessarily hostile or condescending or holier-than-thou, posting blatant dogwhistles, or sealioning.

I’d rather see people in general take a step back and stop taking downvotes so personally. You will get downvoted sometimes. It’s not always an ideological attack.

rikonium,

I believe this approach to be vulnerable to Sea Lions since “debating” facts with someone not tethered to, or respecting of reality is a lesson in futility since the time/effort wasted is the goal.

Track_Shovel,

sea lions

That’s an amazing analogy. I love it.

jaydev,
@jaydev@lemmy.world avatar

I had to think about it for some time. Then I imagined arguing with a barking sea lion. :)

TheAndrewBrown,

In these cases, I give them the benefit of the doubt and try to provide a rational argument why I disagree with them. It either sparks a discussion/debate or they’re obviously trolling and I downvote and move on. But some people that seem like trolls are really just ignorant and showing them why you disagree can help them shape their opinion.

rosatherad,
rosatherad avatar

I didn't find it very hard to change how I downvoted comments. Of course what counts as contributing to a conversation is subjective, but I don't think that should stop people from using it to decide whether to upvote or downvote. I downvote low effort comments, inflammatory comments, rude comments, and comments that spiral into tangents about unrelated topics. I upvote comments using my own judgement to encourage healthy discussions where people contribute differing ideas. I may not agree with every comment I upvote.

tinwhiskers,
tinwhiskers avatar

Be a better lemming and realise this is the fediverse and not just lemmy. Why so specific when it is relevant to all users of the fediverse?

Rentlar,

Downvoting is a trait specific to Lemmy servers, and not pressnt Mastodon and other Fediverse services with “reacts” (a sad emoji would still count as a “like” on score-based ActivityPub servers)… That appears to be the main focus of this post.

Of course, be a nice member of the internet community is something that should be said across the Fediverse regardless of platform.

snooggums,
snooggums avatar

Yeah, that is a great principal that just doesn't work out in practice. Is is something to strive for, but if someone posts something stupid that get 45 downvotes does 45 replies that their point is stupid actually do anything other than give them 45 posters to respond to with further ignorance?

If someone else made the point I would then I downvote and move on. If their take is so wildly terrible and not contributing to discussion that I don't want a reply from them when I point it out then I will still downvote and move on.

Again, it is something we should strive for, but not something we should expect.

AnonTwo,

Technology is a history of users using things in ways the developer didn’t consider. Honestly if it’s something that isn’t of value to the site, I’d imagine it should be on a report button, not a downvote button.

But you just can’t convince end-users to do things the way you want. Either the system let’s them do it or it doesn’t. And half the time if the system lets them do it, they’ll do it even if it sets fire to the system.

I don’t think it’s of any value to try to change user’s choice of using the system, but rather embrace it and find ways to both better enable the system to use it (and perhaps curb some things you don’t like about it) and then figure out what went wrong with the original intent and try to reimplement that.

mremugles,

I don’t think that this is the correct way to address this problem. While I agree that downvotes shouldn’t be used indiscriminately, simply urging people to use it in another form isn’t going to do much. If people were better, the world would be better. The problem is that people aren’t better, and so we have the problems at hand.

I don’t know, I think a systemic approach to problems is usually a better way to a solution. Just to give a quick idea, which might be a bad one at that, I think that Lemmy could, by default (with the option to toggle the option), ask the user to give their opinion whenever they downvote. It’s simple and small, but could be the push that people need to actually engage in conversation rather than lazily pressing good and bad buttons. I’m not sure it would work, but I think it’s a step ahead of simply yelling to people “Be better!” and expecting things to change. Just my two cents, though.

Scum,

Agree. And I’ll add that part of the reason I lurked Reddit for so long was getting downvoted for no known reason. I know I shouldn’t care, and some people are just inconsiderate, but could you imagine how that would be IRL? Imagine you’re at a party where people are chatting and laughing, you try to get in to the conversation and say something relevant or funny. One person looks at you coldly and gives you a thumbs down and the rest of them shrug and continue talking. Fucking ouch. At least tell me why, or maybe pause for a sec you’re having a knee-jerk reaction and consider your motive, and desired outcome.

Bishma,

Disagree with me if you want but I think we should be referred to as Motorheads.

Track_Shovel,

How the hell do I upvote you more? That’s an amazing perspective.

Rabbithole,

Seconded. Better than every other name I've seen floated yet.

OutrageousUmpire,

One thing that helps here is that I can see exactly how many upvotes and how many downvotes a post/comment has, instead of an aggregated amount. It adds a level of responsibility, I think?

Also if you don’t like it, there are instances like Beehaw that don’t even allow downvotes.

xc2215x,

Downvoting is fine if you disagree but not just for the sake of it.

yip-bonk,
yip-bonk avatar

On that other post about downvoting yesterday, I was told it is specifically NOT fine to downvote if one disagrees. Which is precisely how I’m used to using it.

I disagree with that interpretation, but, y’know, I didn’t downvote it. Because - ?

stevedidWHAT,
@stevedidWHAT@lemmy.world avatar

While I agree with the idea of everyone getting the opportunity to be heard and form an opinion, I disagree with your rationale.

relevance to a conversation is a subjective and decided on the fly depending upon how much you know about a subject you or how well you understood what someone was saying.

How someone communicates is defined even more subjectively with more unique flare, accents, lingo, etc which can further obfuscate intended meaning.

Etc etc. idk why we’re trying to categorize and make point systems for fucking everything. I would much rather have a comment section with a sort by controversial button to see where the most “debate” is going on rather than trying to prioritize one comment over another. The bulk of the post is the information, the comments are for communication and discussion and shouldn’t be taken as factual or anything other than subjective anyway.

Track_Shovel,

While I agree with the idea of everyone getting the opportunity to be heard and form an opinion, I disagree with your rationale.

See, Lemmy, we can do it! this guy did it right here!

idk why we’re trying to categorize and make point systems for fucking everything.

honestly. Yay internet capitalism? Humanity must be sum zero.

norgur,
@norgur@discuss.tchncs.de avatar

You know those discussions that go further down, so get less and less votes because ppl don’t read the whole damn thing, until they become a back and forth between two people? Remember how many of those end on a single post with 0 upvotes. I hate those. I hate when the Downvote is only used to express “I have nothing to say, but I vaguely disagree”-downvotes.

Candelestine,

The Do Your Part community, I think its here on World, has been collecting content like this, if you would care to archive it there.

Track_Shovel,

could you please link me to the community? as I said, I’m somewhat new here. While I’m still a wide-eyed idiot in this community, fumbling across the fediverse, I’m a hard working one and would like to add it this there.

Candelestine,

!c/doingmypart@lemmy.world

Track_Shovel,

undefined> /doingmypart@lemmy.world

thanks! much appreciated.

TawdryPorker,

Another thing to note is that downvotes are, in effect, public. One hopes that this will have a chilling effect upon individuals and groups who have been gaming the karma/visibility system over on reddit for years.

Track_Shovel,

The other thing that I appreciate about this community, is that it effectively doesn’t really track karma/visibility. Yeah, my comment got 300 upvotes - what a rush. I can’t ‘build’ an entire identity online because of how many upvotes I’ve got though.

Nougat,

Downvotes used to be public on reddit, too. They changed that, and further "fuzzied" the visible total vote count, because reporting those numbers perfectly accurately and publicly made it easier for astroturfers and spammers to game the system. They were able to see the effects of their sneaky efforts, which helped them identify what worked and what didn't, which then allowed them to know which sockpuppet accounts were shadowbanned in some way.

bbsm3678,

Thanks for sharing this! As a new lemmy user I did not know this. The page you linked to says any admin in the federated universe has access to this information. What’s to stop someone from making their own server to get access to this information?

TawdryPorker,

If you’re able to follow instructions then you can set up a server. For the purposes of this conversation then, as things stand, anybody is allowed to set up a server and then an instance and then see that data.

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