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VulchR

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jun 8, 2009
3,358
14,217
Scotland
I know there are threads about downvoting posts, but so far as I can tell they are locked. Recently I have seen a few posts with negative votes, so I wonder whether this feature will return (let me guess - Arn is experimenting....). If it's not back, then something might be wrong with the way the votes are tabulated (or perhaps a hack).
 

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,541
941
No, it's not back on. What posts did you see with downvotes? They're most likely ones that were downvoted before that feature was removed.
 

VulchR

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jun 8, 2009
3,358
14,217
Scotland
I thought they were recent - but perhaps not because I cannot find any instances now. :eek: I just finished a long, 11-hour day at work so maybe my brain is fried (and no, I have not been drinking). Apologies...
 

blueroom

macrumors 603
Feb 15, 2009
6,381
26
Toronto, Canada
Rather than downvoting I wish the site allowed personal notes under the username vs having the 6502 flotsam.
Then I could root out the trolls.
 

GoCubsGo

macrumors Nehalem
Feb 19, 2005
35,741
153
I thought they were recent - but perhaps not because I cannot find any instances now. :eek: I just finished a long, 11-hour day at work so maybe my brain is fried (and no, I have not been drinking). Apologies...

The thread could have recent replies but the down voting isn't back. I noticed the threads as well; recent posts and not so recent down voting.
 

Scepticalscribe

macrumors Ivy Bridge
Jul 29, 2008
63,834
46,281
In a coffee shop.
I have noticed this, too, but (on subsequently checking the dates for the relevant posts) realised that the posts in question had been submitted while that unpleasant feature existed - as simsaladimbamba has so well expressed it, 'in the dark days of passive aggressiveness', - and that whatever thread they have appeared in has since been resurrected by others, in more recent times.
 

Spectrum Abuser

macrumors 65816
Aug 27, 2011
1,377
48
Downvoting was a handy feature. It showed which posts were generally out of sync with the rest of the thread without having to actually read them. Several of my posts were downvoted quite a bit, but I still enjoyed the option.
 

ucfgrad93

macrumors Core
Aug 17, 2007
19,522
10,810
Colorado
Downvoting was a handy feature. It showed which posts were generally out of sync with the rest of the thread without having to actually read them. Several of my posts were downvoted quite a bit, but I still enjoyed the option.

Agreed. It is an option that I miss a great deal.
 

marc11

macrumors 68000
Mar 30, 2011
1,618
4
NY USA
Agreed. It is an option that I miss a great deal.

Its also one that people abused to be spiteful if they did not agree with your comment and or for almost any comment anti Apple. It often served to escalate in thread arguments too as most people are not mature enough to give nor accept the negative dings.
 

Arran

macrumors 601
Mar 7, 2008
4,846
3,779
Atlanta, USA
Downvoting was a handy feature. It showed which posts were generally out of sync with the rest of the thread without having to actually read them. Several of my posts were downvoted quite a bit, but I still enjoyed the option.

I felt the same way. A down vote on an suspect troll post was a swift way of indicating disapproval with a disruptive poster. I tend not to respond in writing to folks who seem to be looking just to quarrel: Waste of their time and mine.

Reflecting on it now, they probably liked the down-votes since it confirmed they'd 'got' to someone: Mission accomplished! So now, with down-voting removed and (I'm thinking) reasonable posters disinclined to fire back with words, the trolls (few that they are) are being starved of attention and will hopefully move on.
 
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Mr. Retrofire

macrumors 603
Mar 2, 2010
5,064
518
www.emiliana.cl/en
I felt the same way. A down vote on an suspect troll post was a swift way of indicating disapproval with a disruptive poster. I tend not to respond in writing to folks who seem to be looking just to quarrel: Waste of their time and mine.
You have the report button for such cases. That is enough. No need for a useless downvoting button, which just creates an additional negative atmosphere. If you want the latter, you are certainly on the wrong board.

----------

Its also one that people abused to be spiteful if they did not agree with your comment and or for almost any comment anti Apple. It often served to escalate in thread arguments too as most people are not mature enough to give nor accept the negative dings.
iAgree 100 %.
 

tech4all

macrumors 68040
Jun 13, 2004
3,399
489
NorCal
You have the report button for such cases. That is enough. No need for a useless downvoting button, which just creates an additional negative atmosphere. If you want the latter, you are certainly on the wrong board.

Upvoting is that just as useful or useless as downvoting. Just in the other direction. Personally I think if you're going to have a voting system, have both or don't do it at all.
 

Digital Skunk

macrumors G3
Dec 23, 2006
8,096
916
In my imagination
Upvoting is that just as useful or useless as downvoting. Just in the other direction. Personally I think if you're going to have a voting system, have both or don't do it at all.

It may be but at the very least it keeps things positive. If you don't like someone's comment, you can either rebut or move on. In the dark ages of MacRumors it was met with downvoting, and once someone received about 10 negatives you could rest assured that most would just continue downvoting.
 

Jimbo47

macrumors 6502a
Jun 21, 2010
728
3
I used to Admin a board that had a reputation system. In your post bit, it showed either green squares (up to 10ish, the more you had, the better "reputation" you had) or red squares (obviously means a bad reputation). Users could leave feedback for your posts, where only you could view what each one said through the User CP. The more reputation you had, the more of an effect you would have when leaving feedback. There were limits set on this though. You could only leave 5 feedbacks in a 24 hour period to avoid abuse.
 

blueroom

macrumors 603
Feb 15, 2009
6,381
26
Toronto, Canada
But defeats the purpose of the internet - A place where anyone can say anything and not have to deal with the consequences ;)

It's a personal reminder, only I could see it. It doesn't limit what a person can post.

A hover over popup note would be fantastic, I wonder if there's a third party app?

PS if there were no consequences then we wouldn't have banned members.
 

annk

Administrator
Staff member
Apr 18, 2004
15,122
9,243
Somewhere over the rainbow
I never paid much attention to the votes either way, and even though I think it's great that members are so invested in the site that they felt the issue was worth extensive discussion, I was also very surprised that what I personally considered a pretty trivial thing elicited such strong opinons (not in this thread, but in others discussing the voting system).

But in the end, I think this comment hits the nail on the head:

...If you don't like someone's comment, you can either rebut or move on...

The up-voting gives members the possibility to say they agree, in cases they don't really have anything else to say, but without cluttering up threads with "+1" posts. If you disagree with what someone writes, you can either take the time to say so (constructively) in a post, or move on.
 

Tilpots

macrumors 601
Apr 19, 2006
4,195
71
Carolina Beach, NC
The lack of down voting is silly if there's an up vote. One voting option is asinine. Why don't you just put rainbows in every post? Unicorns would be nice, too.
 

annk

Administrator
Staff member
Apr 18, 2004
15,122
9,243
Somewhere over the rainbow
The lack of down voting is silly if there's an up vote. One voting option is asinine. Why don't you just put rainbows in every post? Unicorns would be nice, too.

That's what I was addressing in my previous post:

...The up-voting gives members the possibility to say they agree, in cases they don't really have anything else to say, but without cluttering up threads with "+1" posts. If you disagree with what someone writes, you can either take the time to say so (constructively) in a post, or move on.

If you want to disagree with a post, it's much more constructive to do it with a sentence or two where you say something about why you disagree.
 

Tilpots

macrumors 601
Apr 19, 2006
4,195
71
Carolina Beach, NC
That's what I was addressing in my previous post:



If you want to disagree with a post, it's much more constructive to do it with a sentence or two where you say something about why you disagree.

You could and should say the same for the up vote. It's no different.
 
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