Downvoting

By stompsy | Dec 07, 2018, 10:21 PM
Then add to the debate, rather than just hitting the down button, perhaps AUSBT could adjust their site so that if you hit the down button you also have to make comment as to why. There is a reason why a down vote has gone from most web sites, blogs etc, is that it doesn’t add anything, it only detracts. One person makes a comment and gets 30 down votes but only 5 comments, where is the balance?

I disagreed with, and downvoted your comment, GBRGB.

Here is why:
I have not seen a comment on this website that was massively downvoted without anyone bothering to explain the reason.
When a comment gets 30 negative votes, you are very likely to find an ample explanation among the 5 comments that followed it.

PS: Please feel free to disagree and downvote - I can take it without spending sleepless nights over it.
Last edited by dimi at Dec 07, 2018, 09.22 PM.

Ok :)
Poll: Should AUSBT remove Down Votes?
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By blingwad | Dec 07, 2018, 10:36 PM
I asked a question a month ago and received multiple downvotes. But then 4-5 answers and opinions for my question. I like the downvotes but sometimes wonder why people do it.
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By Brassy | Dec 07, 2018, 10:44 PM
Definitely keep the downvote. Remember the ‘flying with kids’ post and the 100+ downvotes? No better way to show support for the original post.
Aaaah. Good times.
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By stompsy | Dec 08, 2018, 07:10 AM
Definitely keep the downvote. Remember the ‘flying with kids’ post and the 100+ downvotes? No better way to show support for the original post.
Aaaah. Good times.

Yeah but I reckon he got trolled... I downvoted him too just because everyone else did... herd mentality;)
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By Phil Young | Dec 08, 2018, 09:33 AM
Up/Down Voting is ambiguous. Is one voting to agree/disagree with the comment, or is one voting to agree/disagree with the subject matter of the article? When I see down votes for some comments I suspect that people are expressing their anger about the issues raised in the article rather than the person's comment.
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By kimshep | Dec 08, 2018, 10:09 AM
It's interesting to see the various ways which websites implement comment voting. Some community sites have standard up/down, some add a 'thanks' button (we have both those) – some have removed the downvote and simply have like / agree / informative – Fairfax has a single handshake-icon for 'respect' which is similar to like/agree in intent – the NYT has no comment-voting at all. We're working on a revamp of the site and this is one area we'll be looking into, to see if the like/dislike/thanks combo is the best and if the labelling could be better and if the differentiation between 'like' and 'thanks' is apparent and useful.


One small point, David - the New York Times most certainly DOES have comment voting. Underneath submitted posts, users will notice the following: xx REPLIES, xx RECOMMEND, SHARE and FLAG.
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By kimshep | Dec 08, 2018, 10:29 AM

Given that the current 'vote' line (along with Edit, Flag, Thanks etc) is a 'reserved' line, perhaps the better way to evaluate these comment-less marks is to have both an up vote and a separate down vote? That wouldn't take up appreciably more space. It would just be an additional 'counter' - and a useful one IMHO.

I've often watched a particular topic / post (sometimes somewhat controversial) vacillate between positive and negative (or vv). Having both counts would at least give some level of indication of support vs criticism of a particular post.

People's reason for voting varies all over the place - sometimes, it because the original poster asks a simple question that is dismissed because the answer could be found with a quick Google / Bing search, sometimes it is because of the subject (company xx bashing, for instance), other times it is because of the content or view expressed .. and in a few cases, it can simply be malicious.

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By Steve987 | Dec 08, 2018, 01:21 PM
The other option is for users to be able to see who has voted and how. That way voters can be queried on their position.
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By 346 | Dec 11, 2018, 11:23 AM
If the votes are going to stay - can we at least have an end of year award for the most liked and most disliked comment
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By gjspectre | Dec 11, 2018, 04:33 PM
The award is a great idea! The "I pay premium, stay out of my cabin" comment wins the down award for 2018 by a country mile.
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By 346 | Dec 12, 2018, 02:14 PM
The award is a great idea! The "I pay premium, stay out of my cabin" comment wins the down award for 2018 by a country mile.

That goes down as one of my favourite comments on any forum ever!
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By David | Dec 13, 2018, 09:26 AM
It's interesting to see the various ways which websites implement comment voting. Some community sites have standard up/down, some add a 'thanks' button (we have both those) – some have removed the downvote and simply have like / agree / informative – Fairfax has a single handshake-icon for 'respect' which is similar to like/agree in intent – the NYT has no comment-voting at all. We're working on a revamp of the site and this is one area we'll be looking into, to see if the like/dislike/thanks combo is the best and if the labelling could be better and if the differentiation between 'like' and 'thanks' is apparent and useful.


One small point, David - the New York Times most certainly DOES have comment voting. Underneath submitted posts, users will notice the following: xx REPLIES, xx RECOMMEND, SHARE and FLAG.

To be accurate, only one of those is any form of voting, that being 'Recommend', which puts the comment into the Reader's Picks section (an interesting idea which works well when you have massive amounts of comments) - but even so it's not voting in the up/down sense which is immediately and directly visible to everybody.
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By ManHa | Dec 15, 2018, 11:17 AM
Get rid of voting altogether. It serves no value.

Probably the best response in this thread so far. Everyone (if they have an opinion) should explain their reasoning - hence "discussion forum" and not just like/ dislike comments. Let's put more effort into our responses:
1. Like = replace with comment: "I agree because....."
2. Dislike = replace with comment: "However/ what about/ in some instances, ......"

With respect to the content that get's graded, we need to remember this isn't a technical forum, so everything is subjective - also, being an Australian based forum, you are not likely going to go away with many likes for negatively grading an Australian airline like QF.
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By kimshep | Dec 21, 2018, 08:24 AM
It's interesting to see the various ways which websites implement comment voting. Some community sites have standard up/down, some add a 'thanks' button (we have both those) – some have removed the downvote and simply have like / agree / informative – Fairfax has a single handshake-icon for 'respect' which is similar to like/agree in intent – the NYT has no comment-voting at all. We're working on a revamp of the site and this is one area we'll be looking into, to see if the like/dislike/thanks combo is the best and if the labelling could be better and if the differentiation between 'like' and 'thanks' is apparent and useful.


One small point, David - the New York Times most certainly DOES have comment voting. Underneath submitted posts, users will notice the following: xx REPLIES, xx RECOMMEND, SHARE and FLAG.

To be accurate, only one of those is any form of voting, that being 'Recommend', which puts the comment into the Reader's Picks section (an interesting idea which works well when you have massive amounts of comments) - but even so it's not voting in the up/down sense which is immediately and directly visible to everybody.


OK, I am going to be a little pedantic here, David :-) ..

To be accurate - and 'fair', you made a blanket comment that the NYT does NOT have comment voting. Clearly, it does - whether or not 'Up/Down' voting is catered for. I did not suggest that it offers both - as is clearly shown in the format view that I referenced. Whilst the 'RECOMMEND' field is somewhat akin to the SMH field of 'RESPECT' (ie: an UP vote only), that is still a comment vote - whichever way you look at it. The REPLIES (an auto-generated count), SHARE and FLAG options are only mentioned as the contents of the protected fields on the reserved line. There is no suggestion that these are 'forms of voting'.


I do, however, agree that the NYT implementation is an interesting way of adding limited value. As referenced in my post directly below the one where I took issue with your comment, I flagged my preference for both an UP and DOWN vote. A good example of this is the original POLL posted by the OP, which while overwhelmingly in favour of the RETAIN option, actually shows how many are in favour of the 'Ditch' option. A far more balanced view of the topic for all readers - despite the overall preference (66%) for the RETAIN option. As said, having both actually gives some idea of how readers feel from both perspectives - without having to have embedded Polls (which is also of value in many instances)..

Last edited by kimshep at Dec 21, 2018, 08.29 AM.
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