Idea: Pressing downvote triggers a prompt to reply to the thread or comment explaining why you’re downvoting, which is posted and the downvote registered. If you don’t create that linked post, or delete the post, the downvote is cancelled. Come to think of it, that wouldn’t be a bad idea for upvotes as well. If you’re not participating, why should you be able to vote either way?
This may sound odd as a comforting game, but I fired up Fallout 3 a year or so ago, and it really made me feel good to be back in the Capitol Wasteland.
That’s a good aspirational summary of how downvoting should be used, but in practice it’s used as “I don’t like this,” not “this is against the core of what the site stands for,” or “this is factually incorrect.”
I just wanted to say thanks for approving me. This thread and the linked site philosophy posts made signing up here a no-brainer for me. I’m really excited to be a part of the growth of Beehaw!
I’ll soon need to back on some of my optional subscriptions, but the yearly donation to EFF is staying for sure