I can’t say I never downvote anyone but I get into these comment chains from time to time where really no matter what I post whoever I’m talking to downvotes every response but I generally shy away from downvoting even things I dislike. I don’t want to fall into an echo chamber where all I see are only the things I agree with.

    • Zephyr@sh.itjust.worksOP
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      7 days ago

      Its more so a curiosity. I’ve noticed others behaviors and was wondering who lives for the downvote vs who is rarely smashing the down vote. This platform kinda fundamentally runs on down and upvotes.

      • velma@sh.itjust.works
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        7 days ago

        This platform does not run on upvotes and downvotes, that’s Reddit. There is no algorithm here that is influenced by votes. In fact, there are some instances that don’t show or allow downvotes at all.

        • Zephyr@sh.itjust.worksOP
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          7 days ago

          The algorithm is between your left and right ear. If you believe votes have no influence on users behavior then I have some unfortunate news for you.

          • velma@sh.itjust.works
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            7 days ago

            You specifically said “this platform”. This platform does not run on upvotes and downvotes.

            • SeductiveTortoise@piefed.social
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              7 days ago

              My dude, we are part of this platform and some of us seem to care. So I’d say yes, it runs on those as well, but way less than others.

              • velma@sh.itjust.works
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                6 days ago

                I’m not a dude.

                I was speaking specifically about the down and upvote systems as it relates to the fediverse.

                There are whole instances that don’t show votes at all.

                • SeductiveTortoise@piefed.social
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                  Everyone is dude, dude. I don’t care how they identify or what they are equipped with. Dude is gender neutral as heck.

                  I know what you were speaking of, and I know those instances, at least some. Doesn’t change that we are not in a vacuum.

            • Zephyr@sh.itjust.worksOP
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              7 days ago

              I also said the algorithm is between your left and right ear, aka your brain. People act and react to stimulus accordingly. Downvote and upvotes psychology still exists on Lemmy.

  • agent_nycto@lemmy.world
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    6 days ago

    You’re supposed to downvote. If something is off topic especially, but also if something is toxic or against the rules.

    If there was a community where the joke was “you can only reply PANTS” and then someone started to comment about the downfall of capitalism, you downvote that shit into oblivion even if you agree with it out of context.

    • Zephyr@sh.itjust.worksOP
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      Off topic tends to be used very subjectively, particularly if someone just dislikes the comment. Particularly when someone takes one line from a comment that’s on topic to say the comment is off topic. Not always of course but it’s rare so far as I’ve seen.

      Now as for breaking rules or just being verbally violent, most definitely.

      • agent_nycto@lemmy.world
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        I don’t think off topic is very subjective that often, and if you’re not sure just don’t vote. I gave an example of off topic behavior and, you know, it was too help you out. So you wouldn’t feel so bad about down voting. And then you tried to bicker with me about the details.

        • Zephyr@sh.itjust.worksOP
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          Yeah like the example you gave is a good example of someone being off topic. It’s just that I don’t see that circumstance very often personally. More so i have personally seen it used in a disagreement type way, like a single sentence will be taken out of a comment and used to say the whole comment is off topic when I personally didn’t feel they were as egregiously off topic like in the example you gave.

      • velma@sh.itjust.works
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        Commenting “as a man” in a women’s only community will get you downvoted even if it’s on topic.

        • Zephyr@sh.itjust.worksOP
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          Yeah human error got me on that one. I did apologize to everyone. I would have added an apology to the comment but I can’t 😕. Thankfully the mod was understanding I goofed.

    • Zephyr@sh.itjust.worksOP
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      7 days ago

      Is it dumb or is it that you think it’s dumb. To be or not to be. You see I disagree with a lot of people but I see where they are coming from so I don’t think they are literally idiotic. I’m more apprehensive about living in a system where I only ever see what is agreement with whatever I think aka an echo chamber.

      • Assassassin@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        I didn’t say I downvote based on disagreeing. I said I downvote based on if it’s dumb. There are plenty of people that I disagree with that have salient points. The morons are the ones that get the downvote.

      • BassTurd@lemmy.world
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        I will absolutely downvote some people I disagree with if I think they are making a bad faith argument or I think their view is bad. If the masses decide my opinion is wrong then it will work out in the end. If not, then it must have been a bad comment.

        • Zephyr@sh.itjust.worksOP
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          You are, I am, we are the masses. I don’t mind disagreeing with people. I would be more bothered to be somewhere where everyone agrees and we have a culture of chasing off anyone who doesn’t aka an echo chamber. I’ll downvote people being mean because we can disagree and have civil discussion. Also someone blatantly trolling.

      • Strider@lemmy.world
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        People are waaaay to judgy and rarely think outside of their bubble, country, ‘layer’ or can relate that there are differences beyond their knowledge. That’s why I only downvote when I am mostly sure to understand all this context, not just because I don’t like or agree with a statement 🤷

        I also often get a lot of downvotes due to this ironically since I try to understand and ask questions (non hostile!) because I don’t understand.

        • Zephyr@sh.itjust.worksOP
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          It seems you and I are birds of a feather. Same experience here. Any divergence from the accepted norm, even if it’s just inquiry is typically met with downvotes. That is most places trend towards an echo chamber, not just here but anywhere online.

        • Zephyr@sh.itjust.worksOP
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          It is pretty common that people treat their views as an infallible truth. Anything they think is good and smart and any disagreement is bad and dumb.

  • Zier@fedia.io
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    7 days ago

    Votes don’t matter. Upvotes can’t pay your rent or buy food. Downvotes won’t put you in prison.

    Vote however you want, that’s why it’s here.

    • Zephyr@sh.itjust.worksOP
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      It does depend how we are defining what matters. By your definition very few things matter. As a location for discourse it matters in how people related to said discourse in that votes can help push or diminish narratives and craft a location that is or is not an echo chamber. We’re all aware what people see shapes their views and their views shape their actions and their actions shape the world. So I’m not sure I agree that the culture of a platform, the content that is pushed doesn’t matter.

      • dustyData@lemmy.world
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        It depends on how an individual consumes Lemmy. I don’t see votes and my client neither buries nor highlights comments based on votes. I only browse by new or active.

        This means that votes have little to no impact to what I consume or interact with.

        As I’ve said elsewhere. I don’t care if you downvote, I’ve seen what you upvote.

  • Microtonal_Banana@lemmy.zip
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    Yes its stupid because nobody uses them correctly. Its turned into a disagree button instead of “this doesnt belong here or add to the conversation” button.

  • fubbernuckin@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    I just down vote when I see low quality content or irrelevant or poorly supported arguments. I have upvoted takes I disagree with and then commented about why I disagree. It’s not supposed to be a disagree button, it’s supposed to be a “move this down in the feed” button.

    • justOnePersistentKbinPlease@fedia.io
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      This. The original intent of the downvote on reddit was for things that actively take away from the conversations; not merely because you disagree with it.

      Equally, the upvote was for things that contribute, not just for things you like.

  • CapuccinoCoretto@lemmy.world
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    Don’t up/downvote for agree or dislike. People are allowed to have differing opinions. I downvote for hate, or bad faith. Very little else.

  • AskewLord@piefed.social
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    6 days ago

    why the hell do you care about any of this?

    maybe the better strategy is to not care about what internet strangers think about you?

    • Zephyr@sh.itjust.worksOP
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      Views, engagement and votes determine what people see and what they don’t as well as how they feel about it. What people see shapes their views. Their views shape their behavior. Their behavior shapes the world. It’s worthwhile for an online community to not become just another pointless echo chamber.

      • velma@sh.itjust.works
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        It’s worthwhile for an online community to not become just another pointless echo chamber.

        It’s worthwhile for men to respect when women want to gather on our own and talk about things without men’s voices.

        • Zephyr@sh.itjust.worksOP
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          I’m not sure that constitutes an echo chamber necessarily. Women alone obviously have very diverse opinions on topics, same for men and non-binary people. Now if there’s a specific narrative and everyone agrees and any disagreement or questioning is seen as an attack then that’s probably an echo chamber.

          • velma@sh.itjust.works
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            Oh you absolutely thought it did when you DMed me to argue about making sure the rules are being applied equally in womensstuff.

            • Zephyr@sh.itjust.worksOP
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              More so to apologize but yeah rules should be applied equally since there was another guy in those same threads although i don’t agree with the point they were making.

              • velma@sh.itjust.works
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                I’d be really curious to know if you DM other community members with the same concern after you’ve been reprimanded for breaking the rules.

      • AskewLord@piefed.social
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        6 days ago

        according to who? you?

        the vast majority of people disagree with you, and their votes count just as much as yours. they prefer the echo chamber.

        • Zephyr@sh.itjust.worksOP
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          Oh I most definitely understand people enjoy echo chambers. They haven’t become the norm by accident.

  • southsamurai@sh.itjust.works
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    Nope!

    I don’t even care about the accidental ones that happen from scrolling while tired.

    Worst that happens is the hot feed gets negligibly shifted until the next person comes along.

    • MinnesotaGoddam@lemmy.world
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      Yeah, I try to give everyone uppies unless they’re being a bigger jerk than me. The accidental downvotes, they happen but like I usually catch them

    • wraekscadu@vargar.org
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      6 days ago

      I’m not sure if ur profile picture is real, but in case it is: You, sir have a magnificent beard!

      • southsamurai@sh.itjust.works
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        Alas, it isn’t me.

        However, I picked it partly because the guy looks enough like me to be a close relative, and my beard is very similar :)

  • howrar@lemmy.ca
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    I feel the same. The only times I (intentionally) down vote are for things like spam or people throwing insults around with zero substance. It’s basically a button for increasing/decreasing visibility, and you get much more interesting discussions when it involves views you disagree with.

  • neidu3@sh.itjust.works
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    I’m indifferent, really. You can make the most benign post/comment possible and someone will downvote you for it, so you’ll get used to it. Plus, too many people here think downvotes are for disagreeing.

    And just to prove my point, I downvoted your question for absolutely no reason. Idc how you vote in return, if at all.

    Have a nice day ❤️

    • Zephyr@sh.itjust.worksOP
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      I upvoted you actually. Like anywhere online I’ve seen very negative people who get joy from others feeling bad or thinking they have made them feel bad. I always want to have a candid discussion with someone like that because it’s very curious to me.

      So far the people I’ve been able to accomplish that with are very discontent in their life or something specific in their human experience but it’s a very small sample size. Most keep with shallow discussion more so like they’re playing a character.

  • Arts251@lemmy.ca
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    I downvote comments if they are factually wrong, if they are mean or derogatory or if they are needlessly critical of another commenter. I personally don’t care if I get downvoted or even upvoted, I’m just here to speak my mind, hear others opinions, rant or vent or sometimes engage in a pleasant text conversation with a stranger.