What are your criteria for upvoting/downvoting?

I hate that I always compare Lemmy to Reddit, but Reddit used to have (not sure if they still do) guidelines called “Reddiquette” that included guidelines about upvoting and downvoting. I don’t remember the specifics (and sending too much of my browser traffic to Reddit makes me feel dirty) but one of the guidelines was not to upvote/downvote on the basis of agreement/disagreement with the content.

On Lemmy, I’m honestly a bit lax about upvoting and downvoting at all. (I’m trying to be better about it.) Buy when I do upvote/downvote, I try to do so on the basis of whether the comment/post “adds to” or “subtracts from” the community or conversation. I can disagree with one comment’s take on some subject but still upvote them if they’ve given me a more nuanced perspective on the issue. If they’re just parrotting well-known talking points and not being thoughtful with their posts, I may downvote them evren if I agree with their ultimate stance.

I’m just mostly wondering how folks on Lemmy think about upvotes/downvotes and what implications that has for the content here.

cobysev,

I tend to upvote if someone brings something unique to the discussion. If you’re just giving a quick generic response to OP or parroting the same opinion a dozen other people in the thread have already posted, then I’m gonna read your comment and keep going. But if you provide thoughtful content that promotes discussion, provides a unique perspective, or at least had a lot of thought put into it, I’m likely to upvote it. Same goes for the post itself.

I generally avoid downvoting, even if I disagree with the comment. But if someone is factually wrong, misleading, posting in bad faith, or just being a troll, I’ll downvote their comments in a thread and upvote anyone who attempts to be reasonable with them. If two people are just bickering back and forth, they both get downvotes. And as always, any comments that distract from the discussion or are off-topic will get a downvote.

rhythmisaprancer,
@rhythmisaprancer@kbin.social avatar

If two people are just bickering back and forth, they both get downvotes.

You made me think of this:

scene from blues brothers with nun

xkforce,

Upvote: contributes positively to the discussion, hasnt been said before in the same thread, well researched/high effort

Downvote: trolling, obvious/overdone, bad/disingenuous reasoning, spreads misinformation, bigotry/sexism

roguetrick, (edited )

I let lurkers do the upvoting or downvoting unless it's really good or really bad Downvotes don't federate from or to kbin anyway.

rhythmisaprancer,
@rhythmisaprancer@kbin.social avatar

I didn't know about the down votes, thanks for sharing.

scytale,

I neither upvote nor downvote stuff.

noride,

Downvotes are for off topic or inflammatory comments, not for things you disagree with, in my opinion.

Nemo,

If it contributed to the conversation, I upvote. Especially if it’s well-written and informative.

If it’s off-topic, incorrect, or repetitive, I downvote.

If it’s banal or uninteresting but not actually deleterious to discourse or distracting from the topic, I don’t vote.

I upvote almost all replies to my comments, including those disagreeing with me, unless they clearly didn’t take the time to read and understand my comment.

I vote on almost all comments I reply to, as well.

Alatarius, (edited )

I use this method as well but I also use the criteria that if I learned something new that is interesting or useful in my life I will upvote. If it’s useless drivel or based on conspiracy theories then I downvote.

OddFed,
@OddFed@feddit.de avatar

I’m afraid it’s the same algorithm I use to answer the question whether I need a receipt.

Godnroc,

If I like it, I upvote. If I dislike it, I downvote. If I have no strong feelings, I do nothing. If I commented and it got a lot of upvotes, I return the favor and upvote the post and any decent comments.

Erasmus,
@Erasmus@lemmy.world avatar

I tend to agree about the down cote it if you disagree with it. I tend to just leave the thread or try not to comment to avoid silly online arguments.

However, if I read something posted that is obviously misleading or someone is just outright lying, then downvote away!

simple, (edited )

Upvoting: I like this post or it adds to the discussion/community (I want to see more of this)

Downvoting: This is spam, off topic, etc. or the poster is being an arse (in general, I want to see less of this)

Simple as.

SamsonSeinfelder, (edited )

Up: Time was worth reading

Down: Time wasted reading (I want my time back!)

Gallardo994,

I generally don’t downvote anything. I, however, upvote stuff other people might want to see first. Easy as that.

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