Ask HN: When Should We Use Down Votes?

It varies. I very rarely downvote something just because I disagree with it, but will do so freely if it's based on an obvious fallacy or false premise, or it's pointlessly rude or antagonistic. I try not to do so too often, but I don't actually know my ratio of up- to down-votes, so I'm probably a bit more negative in practice than this idealized concept.

I don't think a down vote should be used for simple disagreement, because there's no point in having a one-sided discussion. If there's a factual error, correct it in a comment. I think down votes should be used on things that are:

a) Utterly pointless (memes, insults, trolling, etc)

or

b) Spam

I usually only downvote purely out of disagreement if the person trotted out some argument that everyone who disagrees with them has heard before, so that I don't leave the response everyone already knows that rebuts it. E.g., the old pro-/anti-GPL debate. Downvoting lets you get satisfaction without dignifying a dumb thread with a response.

Also I downvote things that are just conversational, low content, inflammatory. But I don't downvote a lot, only when the comments seem to be derailing things.

I usually downvote:

- Bad quality content

- Factually incorrect or unscientific

- Clickbait and misleading titles

- Spam

- non-tech political Stuff

- shaming, whining, blaming

- too personal centered content

In one: Everthing that doesn't contributes to a tech-centered professional news site.

Downvotes are polymorphic. I downvote what needs downvoting. Recognize that some things trigger downvoting because of what someone else did and some things trigger downvoting because of what I might do otherwise, A down vote is better for HN than my passion fueled contrary opinion to something wrong on the internet.

Reasons I downvote comments fall into two categories:

1. Poor etiquette

2. Poor writing

Examples of poor etiquette:

- Obvious self promotion that adds nothing to discussion

- Any mention of "downvote" in the comment body

- "Flamebait" and clearly mean-spirited remarks

Examples of poor writing:

- Completely off-topic, especially if at top of thread

- Factually incorrect

- Extraordinary claim without extraoridinary evidence

- Ambiguous language or poor wording that leads to confusion

- Aggressive conclusions based on faulty logic

I try to avoid downvoting for emotional reasons. Just because I disagree with a comment does not mean it's wrong. I have noticed a trend, especially around NSA/government/surveillance/conspiracy type comments, where people will downvote logical arguments without refuting them. This is not good for discussion. If you disagree with a comment, try to understand its author before reflexively downvoting. An equally logical reply contributes far more to discussion than a downvote.