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
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.
So one thing I’ve noticed that I like quite a lot about Lemmy is that heavily downvoted comments still seem to show up when they’re embedded into a comment chain. I’ve had conversations here where I am accumulating 5-10 downvotes per comment, and it’s fine; everyone can still talk to me, I can still talk to everyone, yes I register your disapproval, but I still get to converse.
That’s the thing though. If they downvote and move on, then they aren’t adding anything to the conversation. If they downvoted, and then said why, it would spur more discussion. That’s all I’m getting at in this post. By talking about differences in opinion with civility in mind, we avoid echo chambers and all the other negative shit that goes with it.
Lol, I tested this out live. Most people still like to ‘disagree button and run.’ I think it comes from the ‘debate me bro’ atmosphere that seemed prevalent on Reddit. A lot of folks would rather just show they disagree than expose their logic on why. This trend can then be manipulated by bots to strengthen the ‘unspoken disagreement’ with opinions that don’t jive with whatever agenda they’ve been created to support. And rather than talking out disagreements a lot of them devolved into ‘then just leave.’ Or even more venomously as ‘this community will be better when you’re gone.’ .
Another contributing factor is that as we have seen in media, especially in politics, if you try to present evidence to contraindicate or provide a different perspective folks will just put their fingers in their ears and talk louder. It can be very exhausting and sometimes it is not worth the effort.
think it comes from the ‘debate me bro’ atmosphere that seemed prevalent on Reddit
Fuck, seriously, tell me about it. I hated that part of reddit so much. Pedantic narcissists.
I agree with everything you said in your comment.
I once had some knob trying to argue to me that “god is real” because “the Incas believed the sun was a god, and the sun is real.”
This comment to me is a perfect example of something that doesn’t add anything to the conversation. But should I downvote it or ignore so it can possibly branches off into another conversation about “lol Christians” or something else?
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.
I’m pretty sure I have this reoccurring nightmare.
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.
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.
sea lions
That’s an amazing analogy. I love it.
I had to think about it for some time. Then I imagined arguing with a barking sea lion. :)
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?
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.
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?
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.
