Downvotes

Question

Hello everyone,
Sorry if this is not directly a programming related question but…
I recently posted a code and when I open it I see there is 1 upvote. But when I click to see who upvoted it I see that 3 persons upvoted it. Does it mean that two people downvoted it ? And why ? I don’t think there is anything in my code that justifies a downvote.
Also, is it really useful to have the possibility to downvote on an app like SoloLearn ?
Here is the code :
https://code.sololearn.com/WO49AelZ4Ns4/?ref=app
Thanks

Answer 1

Martin
This isn't a direct response to the conversation itself. It's moreso me throwing my 2-cents in.
I wouldn't go as far as saying that anyone expects an upvote for a "hello world" code, unless they outright request it. At the same time, if something doesn't deserver an upvote, that doesn't necessarily mean that it deserves a downvote.
Downvote-abuse is extremely toxic behavior (whether or not that's what was originally being talked about). In most scenarios (given normal circumstances), they would be viewed as a form of constructive criticism, yes. Do I believe that is what the majority of the community uses them for? No.
I disagree with your "participation medal" statement's angle. If someone is weak-minded, spineless, etc. - they are that way regardless of what features are offered by an app. The "discourages effort" part works both ways as well. I can't tell you how many times I've witnessed someone put minimal effort into answering something, before upvoting their answer and downvoting everyone else's in an attempt to draw more attention to their answer.
The "social justice" drama you referenced hardly plays a part here IMO. The problem doesn't have anything to do with someone getting their feelings hurt, etc. The problem is oriented around whether or not the downvote feature is applicable, and if it is - then it's oriented around what makes it necessary (how it's beneficial). Being told that an anonymous person dislikes whatever you shared without being given any other information is hardly beneficial for either party. Now that I think about it, I wouldn't necessarily say that a downvote is "constructive" criticism, as the downvoter often times doesn't provide reasons behind their criticism. I don't disagree with the downvote feature having an intended purpose. However, I don't think that the downvoters should be anonymized. If they weren't anonymized, there'd be more of a chance of them being poked about why they disliked whatever they downvoted.

Answer 2

Daljeet Singh
Yes, we've suggested this to the devs a few times.
Martin Taylor
RE: "The reason downvotes are anonymous is to prevent downvote retaliation out of malice."
The block button would come in clutch then, if users choose the mature route. Not only that, but the platinum moderators wouldn't have to deal with it, and would instead instruct users to block someone who targets them with downvotes. We'd still likely respond to situations involving threads & comment-sections being targeted though. If downvotes weren't anonymous, a user could simply block whomever targets them. If they'd raise Hell and retaliate, it'd only be a matter of time before one or more people would end up telling both parties to grow up.
I skimmed the rest. I think you're overreacting, given your examples. That's only my opinion though.

Answer 3

Gamer I personally don't like downvoting in the shadows. I prefer to just say what I take issue with in a code or post. I find it to be more constructive to do so. I think downvoting, particularly anonymously, diminishes the platform and discourages people new to it.
As to your code, I concure with Martin Taylor ...just saying 😉
[EDIT] As for the downvoters who downvoted this answer, why not take ownership of your opinion and post your constructive criticism of my answer as an answer here instead of downvoting anonymously in the shadows? 🤔 I welcome your feedback, positive or negative, it's how we all grow.

Answer 4

Somebody downvotes my questions, answers and even "Thanks" comments! That's... Pretty toxic 😥

Answer 5

Gamer
I have also noted a trend in recent months for senseless downvotes.
I believe some people get a thrill from anonymous negativity.
Don't let it get you down. You know you are better than them, and ultimately, it can't harm you in any way

Answer 6

Downvotes can be useful for a poll where you need a countable result, such as:
yes 35:65 no ...
They are poisonous for constructive criticism.

Answer 7

Rather than downvotes being toxic, they lack the concise guidence that can be given in an answer. If the motivation is to help others, then downvoting falls short. Downvoting is mostly discouraging and not as helpful as sharing ones opinion. But toxic, in my opinion, is overstated.

Answer 8

Downvotes on any platform or sololearn are for some reason .
In your case i don't see any reason to downvote it .
Anyway you can report about it in this thread =>
https://www.sololearn.com/Discuss/524028/?ref=app
And hopefully some mod might respond to you !
also, Happy Birthday !.

Answer 9

Martin Taylor thanks for your comments. I reduced the size of the image and deleted the alert. Thank you also Paul K Sadler for taking the time of answering 🙂

Answer 10

Jay Matthews thanks for your answer ! I agree with you, I don’t see the interest of downvoting a code. If there are things to change I find it better to leave a comment.
Happy coding !🙂

Answer 11

Many programming related questions are posted by Sololearners in QA SECTION, hoping to get the best explanation and clarification. Among the questions, there are questions related to debugging codes.
moreover, even though their questions are not from duplicate type, they are still being downvoted.
Just imagine if newbies in programming get downvotes. They will feel demotivated.
If someone does not want to help the others in QA, just ignore the questions instead of leaving a downvote. It is better to do so instead of becoming toxic 😓😓

Answer 12

Fox exactly what happens to me, everything I did lately would get downvotes and they never would say why. I think that downvoters should be required to provide some reasoning for their downvote.

Answer 13

Don't care about those who downvote any code beacause
Those who know coding for them no code is bad, there is always a chance of imporvement but those who don't know how it can be improve, they downvote and those who know tell u in comment. So you should not care about those who don't know coding. Keep going 👍

Answer 14

Lately everything I post, create, and ask gets downvotes

Answer 15

Fox when you say " downvoters shouldn't be anonymized " has anyone (from the mods ) suggested the same to the developers? if yes what was their response
Add to that Katz321Juno suggestion about reasoning

Answer 16

ㅤㅤㅤ then don’t upvote it instead of downvote it

Answer 17

ㅤㅤㅤ true, but it already is an option to provide an explanation via comments

Answer 18

😁

Answer 19

ㅤㅤㅤ but it would make people want to comment their opinions instead of downvote without an explanation.

Answer 20

Abhay thank you for answering ! I reported it and hope to get an answer soon.