I have heard a few different strategies for this. For example “Upvote everything, even if you disagree with it, if it contributes to discussion”. But my concern with this strategy is that it means the first posted comments just get upvoted the highest regardless of their quality relative to other comments (as all comments which contribute to discussion get upvoted).
So, my questions for lemmy:
- How do you hand out upvotes and why?
- If somebody could leave you a tip on your comment or post if they liked it (3c, $1, whatever), would you be interested in that functionality? Nostr has this and I find it pretty fun. I would hand out tips here but there is no functionality for it.
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People upvote everything they agree with, downvote everything they disagree with.
That’s the reality, no matter what they say.
You can easily see this in a thread where two dissenting opinions are present: one opinion gets upvoted consistently, the other gets downvoted consistently, and it’s not based on the quality of their prose.
I disagree with your opinion, yet I haven’t downvoted it.
This is what you think and probably a lot of people share your opinion, and I consider that valid even if I disagree.
I reserve my downvotes for rude people, people who spread misinformation, who really got the answer wrong, or who are trolling or riling people up.
People are not all the same, all following one single set of behaviors. All we can do is try to figure out trends, ratios, stuff like that.
Prose is certainly no good indication of anything either. I could write up some fantastic bullshit with great prose if the mood struck me.
I upvote posts or comments that teach me about something I didn’t know before. Anything that opens a new door for me to gain new knowledge or experiences or a novel approach to life.
I’ll also upvote when someone can put something difficult to express into words clearly.
Both of those add value to my life, and the least I can do is give a click and some positive feedback.
As for leaving a tip, if you mean as in real money, nah, even though it’s probably be worth it to me here. Monetizing stuff is a race to the bottom to churn out cheap content for clicks. Too many places doing that already.
If you mean more of an intangible value for the content provided, more like the 1-5 scale from Slashdot as opposed to just an up or down vote, there could be use in that, but nothing life changing.
I upvote comments that contribute to the discussion, even if I disagree. I downvote comments that detract from the discussion or use slurs. Comments that add nothing but aren’t harmful I leave unvoted.
Posts are a little different. I upvote posts that are interesting (or sparked interesting comments) and on-topic for the muni. I downvote posts that are off-topic and videos posted without a text summary. Posts which don’t interest me but are on-topic I leave unvoted.
Adding money to social media/forums just makes everyone into a smartass for a couple cents.
They’re free, unlimited, and they mean nothing.
I upvote the comments that I either like, and/or agree with, comments I feel like are expressing my own thoughts in the same manner or better than what I would.
Downvotes are for very wrong answers, rude people, trolls, etc.
Boring comments and comments I disagree with but don’t necessarily make me upset get no downvotes nor upvotes.
Upvote for relevance and quality of the content.
Downvote for irrelevance or bad vibes.The problem I’ve had with Reddit for so long is people using the arrows for agree / disagree. This does not promote discussion or interesting ideas. This often promotes comments that are irrelevant to the story people are commenting on. If I read a headline, I want the top comments to expand upon and contribute to that story.
Example: the headline might be about the decline of people eating apples. The highest voted comment might be a smartass comment about how red delicious is not delicious. But the article is actually an in depth report on the affects of climate change on apple production increasing the costs to consumers while processed foods have become more popular.
The amount of garbage on Reddit is just unreal. And now they’re training AI with it. All because people use the voting system improperly. Using my example, AI now believes apples are less popular because they’re not delicious. When people use an AI search engine, they’re not getting the true story.
I will absolutely upvote someone I disagree with. It’s rare but if they have an interesting thing to contribute while displaying knowledge of a subject, I’m all here for that. Genuine engagement with people we disagree with is how we all partake in poking holes in our echo chambers.
It’s an increasingly fine line but I don’t see these forums as social media. Ranking things by agreement or popularity feels like social media to me.
If you’re interested in a reward system, check out minds.com. Although, since it’s inception, this platform has become a cesspool or right wing extremism. It’s sad what it’s become.
