Discussion Forum's DOWN VOTE button feature. **Need your opinion**.

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Hello @-all,

I just need your opinion and thoughts on one forum software feature. What do you guys think about the DOWN vote button option which is there on the left side of each reply made over here, under all TECH forum topics ?

Is it GOOD or BAD ? I'm asking this, because in my opinion, there shouldn't be any down-vote option to begin with.

The reason is simple. Let's face it. Not everyone is well-versed with stuff related to PC, Hardware, Software etc, including MYSELF. Also, not everybody has the capacity, knowledge or caliber to post correct and accurate technical replies and suggestions. So suppose if you down-vote any reply or comment, it MIGHT make the original poster feel bad, and it is also embarrassing, at least IMO.

I mean, like I mentioned above, down voting any reply/comment might also demoralize the poster, if he/she notices it. Sometimes even by mistake someone can also post a misleading answer/solution, so I think down-voting is not the right way to correct the OP.

Instead of that, I think we can always QUOTE and correct the OP's comment, if he/she has posted some dangerously misleading answer., or some misinformation This way, nobody is going to feel bad, and maybe the poster will also realize his/her mistake ?? This is way much better, if you ask my honest opinion.

I think this feature should be disabled via the Forum Software, because down-voting can be a bit awkward for everyone. I could be wrong though.

But anyways, this is just my personal opinion and thoughts on this DOWN VOTE feature. If TOM's HW feels having this option is right, then no worries at all. DISQUS software has disabled this feature though, because people were misusing it.

But obviously, TOM's HW forums are different, and there must be a reason why this option is there in the first place. I just wanted to share my thoughts. But, what do you guys think about all this ? Am I right, or Wrong ? LIKES, UP-votes and Best answers are obviously always good and healthy for everyone, lol.

Cheers, NICK. Obviously, I cannot down vote myself, but just an example. I've NEVER down voted anyone though.

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I disagree.

I have seen some people giving bad advice, and im guilty of this aswell. You dont want someone to get bad advice and go do something that could cause damage to their pc.

The downvote is usefull. Say 2 people say different things. If one has a bunch of upvotes and the other has a bunch of downvotes, it is easy for the op to know which answer is best.
 
I RARELY downvote a post.

IMHO, if a poster is overtly rude or blatantly avoids trying to fix the problem his- or her- self, with something as easy to do as a web search, then asks for step-by-step instructions on how to do something that they could have found with the web search they weere too lazy to do on their own; then, yeah, the post does merit a downvote. But, like I said, I do rarely downvote a post, even for those reasons.

As to feeling guilty....guilt has its place.

If you are rude to a community that is only trying to lend assistance, or you are too lazy to at least make the attempt to search-up your own solutions and are expecting others to do it for you?

You definitely need some healthy guilt to motivate you to change your behaviour.

As compared to the "good-old days" the Internet has become a LOT softer and gutless in dealing with people like that....just my own personal opinion.
 
Usually i think a downvote and a message explaining why they downvoted is very usefull.

I have learned a lot from this. For example, I am happy when i suggest something and someone downvotes it and says "that has xyz fatal problems, but heres an alternative." Now i learned something new.
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
Q: "I'm looking at this DDR4 RAM. Can I use it with my current i7-2600k system?"
A: "Yes, it will work. DDR4 is just faster!"
(and I've seen pretty much that exact Q and A)


That gets a specific downvote. Because it is factually incorrect, and some random new person will come across that answer a year from now, and think it is right.
 
Because it is factually incorrect, and some random new person will come across that answer a year from now, and think it is right.
Naturally, I would assume that the factually incorrect answer is followed-up with correct information, otherwise the act of downvoting is pretty-much a half-step in the direction of a solution.

But, yeah, I see what you're saying.
 
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TJ Hooker

Titan
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The reason is simple. Let's face it. Not everyone is well-versed with stuff related to PC, Hardware, Software etc, including MYSELF. Also, not everybody has the capacity, knowledge or caliber to post correct and accurate technical replies and suggestions. So suppose if you down-vote any reply or comment, it MIGHT make the original poster feel bad, and it is also embarrassing, at least IMO.
No one is required to reply to a question. If someone doesn't know the answer then they shouldn't pretend to. If someone is replying to questions without regard to whether they actually know what they're talking about (or simply that they've read the OP properly in some cases) not only is that not helpful, it can actually be harmful.

Now it's one thing if someone couches their answer with something to the effect of "I'm not sure, but I think ...". I don't think I'd ever downvote that. But if they give an answer that is phrased as if they're certain but is actually incorrect then a downvote is not undeserved IMO. Particularly if their advice could be detrimental if followed, or if they're actively disagreeing with correct advice others have given.

I agree with what's been said above, that if I downvote someone for posting incorrect info I'll either try to post the correct info myself or upvote whoever did already.
 
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USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
Naturally, I would assume that the factually incorrect answer is followed-up with correct information, otherwise the act of downvoting is pretty-much a half-step in the direction of a solution.

But, yeah, I see what you're saying.
Yes, factual info to follow that downvote.

And I've even seen the "Best Answer" awarded to a completely incorrect answer, because that's what fit in the querants original mindset.
Far too many of those.

Downvote and Unselect the erroneous BA.
 
No one is required to reply to a question. If someone doesn't know the answer then they shouldn't pretend to

Yes, obviously that's true. But I was trying to convey some other thing. There is no compulsion to post a reply, but suppose if someone does know the answer, even though it might not be 100% correct, then in this case down-voting his reply makes little sense, imo.

If someone is replying to questions without regard to whether they actually know what they're talking about (or simply that they've read the OP properly in some cases) not only is that not helpful, it can actually be harmful.

I agree on this point though. But some of my points aren't very clear. I will make some additions in my OP.
 
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...and I see that I totally misunderstood the original intent, and responded as though the down-voting was applied to the OP instead of to the replies to the OP.

Feel free to downvote me for my earlier bone-headedness.

[EDIT]
Although, there are some OPs who need a good slap upside the head for being lazy and rude.
(Definitely not MM, though.....just to make that clear.)
 
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I have one more suggestion.

How about giving the OP an ALERT or notification of some sort, so that he know what all answers have been down voted and UP voted ?? The OP in this case is the original poster, who has started the thread/topic, not others.

Suppose within any given thread, there are 4 replies, and out of that two of the suggestions get a down vote, and one gets an UP-Vote, then it would better if the OP is notified about this, so that he can mark that up-voted answer as BEST.
 
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Colif

Win 11 Master
Moderator
i know that if you answer a question and that answer is upvoted, you get a alert. I don't start enough posts to know what op gets apart from a notification for any replies in threads they start. Notifications aren't very clever, you just as likely to get swamped in messages about every upvote/downvote instead of just 1 uptodate message

CM look at these threads, they might use idea... I can't read their minds (would be useful)
 

britechguy

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Jul 2, 2019
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When I am an OP, I would absolutely, positively not want to get notifications regarding what was up or down voted on messages not generated by me. That's not relevant in any way to me.

Not that I expect anything to change, nor am I asking for it to, but I hate up/down voting (whatever it's called, it's still essentially yet another version of like/dislike) and even best answer.

The only way to be sure you're getting the full picture in any topic is to read it through from oldest (original) post to newest, paying attention to the back and forth about discrepancies along the way. Relying on how much a given post is up/down voted is not a reliable gauge, in my experience, of evaluating something in context. There are often bouts of irrational exuberance or denigration regarding certain ideas, both of which are equally invalid. It doesn't take much effort to read through a topic, and in general, "the truth will out," and you get to see exactly how and why.
 

Colif

Win 11 Master
Moderator
We have had, in the past, users who downvote everyone else in thread except their answer... so yeah, what is upvoted the most is more of a suggestion than the actual truth.

Some of the answers are so dangerous to the person asking question that posts will get downvoted to indicate this isn't the right thing to do. There is no dislike button so downvote is only way to show that one answer may not be the best choice. Mods don't delete wrong answers, we try to tell them why they are wrong. And leave the answers up as examples.

You expect people to read everything and not just the headlines? You have high expectations. :)

It would be nice though as I have seen 2 page long threads where same things keep being suggested.
 

britechguy

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I know, I'm weird. I expect that if something is important enough that you're seeking outside assistance to cure it that you might want to take the time to determine what the general consensus is, when many options are presented, rather than running with the first, then running with the second, . . . possibly breaking things along the way and making the ultimate fix more difficult.

Any time I see "fast and furious" reaction on a topic (even if reading it long after it was fresh) my first inclination is to read through it because there's almost certainly going to be some bad advice that's being refuted. My personal experience shows that there is a certain bad-advice-giving contingent that will fight to the death, insisting they're right, regardless of what a raft of subject matter experts say.

I'm such a fool!
 
The downvote button has to exist for situations like users recommending 4 pin molex to 8 pin EPS adapters, and claiming they are perfectly "Safe" because they are on the market.
Given the up/down vote system for automatic BA selection as well, it needs to be there.

However, I believe a follow up answer to refute the downvoted one should be included. If you cant back up why you downvote, then you shouldnt do it.
 

boju

Titan
Ambassador
Regarding incorrect ba's and if the deserving answer doesn't make it to five votes, what if the thread & answer could be flagged for eventual review? Perhaps the guys solving old threads could have a look when they're not too busy?

There'd probably be potential for abuse i guess if anyone could flag and clog the notification inbox for those concerned. Maybe might help minimise inappropriate flaggings if a message is required before submitting and an rank requirement.
 

Colif

Win 11 Master
Moderator
Most questionable best answers are reported or bought to our attention now. We can't get all of them but while there are sure to be some, i think the majority marked as solved are probably pretty good.
 

Rogue Leader

It's a trap!
Moderator
Well, I think you guys were actually correct to an extent. Having the down vote option isn't that bad as I previously thought. Though, I'm still not that much convinced.

IMO people need to use the voting options more and then it will make itself more useful.

If you voted up and down for replies in every thread you read even if you don't reply to the thread, and other people start doing the same, the good posts will get noticed, the bad ones will be ignored, and automatically the most well voted post will become Best answer after a month if no BA is selected. This will make threads that the OP didn't come back to infinitely more useful, and serve as a handy guide for those who can't parse good and bad answers to live threads easily.

Sure are there avenues where people can be gamed? Absolutely. But thats where if you see it you should report it, and mods will review and take action.
 
Hello Rogue leader,

Yeah, I do agree with some of your points. Makes sense, but honestly speaking I still feel this feature is kind of awkward, at least in my opinion. I know it's there for a good reason, but I don't think that reason REALLY warrants such a forum feature ? Don't get me wrong though, 'cause I understand the rules of this forum, but I think we can have other ways to deal with this issue as well ?

But anyways, I just wanted to point this out. My main issue with this down-vote feature is that it makes me reluctant to post a reply under any said topic.

Sometimes I'm hesitant to post a comment, out of fear that it might get down-voted, since I'm not 100% sure about my own solution/suggestion given to the OP. Though, I don't have any intention to misguide the OP. :(

But do such kind of comments also deserve a down-vote, even if the suggestion provided is NOT 100% accurate, but at least correct to some extent ? I'm kind of paranoid sometimes to provide any suggestion or offer support to the OP, because of this down vote feature, lol.

Just my thoughts.
 

Rogue Leader

It's a trap!
Moderator
I mean you're assuming that everyone browsing the forum is out to get you somewhat.

Me personally if I see an OK reply thats neither good nor bad I just don't vote on it. I vote on good solutions, or clearly bad ones.

The Voting feature has been around for a VERY long time on Tom's, the prior software had it as well. Also many other Tech Sites including Microsoft's own tech support forums have a similar feature. Its an easy way to have the community police good and bad answers. Moderators can't catch every single thread here.

This site is all about crowdsourcing the answer, and voting on answers is just another way for the community to do that.
 
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