Down Voting! Is it helpful?

LTC Bink Romanick — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 10:10:57 -0400

I have some opinions that others may not like and others may have opinions that I don't like. The point of discussion is discussion , not eating other people's opinions. Ratings inhibit free thought and open discussion.

I have down voted, I have lost a thousand points on down votes. I see no actual usefulness of rating another person's opinion. If you don't like the opinion, pass it up. If you don't like the person, block them.

What say you?

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 9 at 2015 10:13 AM

LCDR Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 10:13:45 -0400

I only down vote when someone personally attacks me

Response by SCPO David Lockwood made Jul 9 at 2015 10:14 AM

SCPO David Lockwood — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 10:14:31 -0400

Depends on how it is used.

Response by COL Charles Williams made Jul 9 at 2015 10:15 AM

COL Charles Williams — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 10:15:17 -0400

LTC Bink Romanick I think not... I think you can state your comments, good or bad, without the voting or the points. I particularly hate the "drive by vote down" where in someone votes you down and leaves not comment?

Response by COL Jean (John) F. B. made Jul 9 at 2015 10:20 AM

COL Jean (John) F. B. — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 10:20:09 -0400

LTC Bink Romanick - I don't have a problem with the down-vote (and I have received several), but I do think that a down-vote should require a comment to register as such.

Any time I get a down-vote, without a comment, I ask the voter to comment/share his/her opinion. Some do and some don't. I think it should be required.

Response by SrA Edward Vong made Jul 9 at 2015 10:21 AM

SrA Edward Vong — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 10:21:29 -0400

I try to only use down voting not for users who's post is something that I don't agree with. On the contrary sometimes if a post is explained well and displays professionalism, I'll up-vote them even if I disagree.

I down-vote for users whose post show a COMPLETE lack of professionalism, display hostility, personal insults, and antagonizing. I believe not all down votes deserve an explanation, one should be able to tell what they posted.

Response by LTC Bink Romanick made Jul 9 at 2015 10:24 AM

LTC Bink Romanick — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 10:24:39 -0400

COL Williams that was my exact point. Perhaps I didn't word my question properly. I think you should state your opinion in a free discussion without penalty or approval. I've never had a down vote with a comment.

Discussion is discussion...its an intellectual process not a competition.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 9 at 2015 10:43 AM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 10:43:36 -0400

I've received some down votes and it doesn't bother me. The thing that bothers me is, if you're going to down vote me then leave a comment as to why you disagree. I've voted up opinions I didn't necessarily agree with but I felt they were making a valid argument. We have to be open to the views of others, that's how we learn and grow intellectually.

Response by Capt Seid Waddell made Jul 9 at 2015 10:46 AM

Capt Seid Waddell — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 10:46:11 -0400

I have never down voted anyone, but have received two down votes from others that disagreed with my comments.

I think that everyone is entitled to their own opinions, and I am happy to discuss issues with anyone no matter what their position. I up-vote most people that engage me in discussions whether I agree with them or not, because I value their honest and professional input. A couple of times I have run out of up-votes when I really needed them for particularly thoughtful comments, so I try to be judicious.

When I run across people that attack others personally I just pass on by without comment. Life is too short to engage in needless acrimony.

Response by SGT Ben Keen made Jul 9 at 2015 11:16 AM

SGT Ben Keen — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 11:16:25 -0400

The discussion of Down Voting is one that has been around the community for a long time. The idea behind them continues to evolve. Personally, the only time I really look at using the Down Vote is when there is a comment that doesn't serve to continue the discussion in a meaningful and respectful way. I also will leave a comment explaining my down vote. The points here really don't matter to me. At one point I was within the Top 5 of all Veterans here on the site, now I'm in the 30s but continue to be active and try to be someone that the RallyPoint community can turn to for thoughts, ideas, and motivation.

RallyPoint is a great tool for those on active duty status as well as those of us that carry the title of Veteran and Retirees. We can engage in some meaningful and informative discussions that could really help someone today or tomorrow from having to go through the same struggles we faced.

So is down voting helpful? Sure, it can be but like with most things in life, it's only helpful if used the right way.

Response by SPC Margaret Higgins made Jul 9 at 2015 11:35 AM

SPC Margaret Higgins — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 11:35:34 -0400

I agree with you; LTC Romanic. Voting down serves no purpose. I mean, for instance, you yourself lost 1,000 points. In my estimation, that is totally disproportionate to anything that you might have said.
I am all for encouraging one another.

Response by SSG Carlos Madden made Jul 9 at 2015 12:25 PM

SSG Carlos Madden — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 12:25:18 -0400

Thank you for your feedback. Down voting "is how the community indicates that a member's post is not helpful, productive, or professional. Down votes may also indicate that an opinion is unpopular."

DOWN Voting

What is voting down? Voting down, or "down voting", is how the community indicates that a member's pos...

Response by COL Mikel J. Burroughs made Jul 9 at 2015 12:46 PM

COL Mikel J. Burroughs — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 12:46:53 -0400

LTC Bink Romanick I never use them and I never will. I think everyone is entitled to an opinion on this open forum. If I don't like it I usually don't respond or move on. I find it to be the polite way of communicating. Don't worry LTC Bink Romanick I won't every vote you down. Have a great RP Day!

Response by SPC David Hannaman made Jul 9 at 2015 1:02 PM

SPC David Hannaman — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 13:02:28 -0400

I personally don't down vote. I may comment with a dissenting opinion with the intent of encouraging a different perspective though.

Response by WO1 Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 9 at 2015 1:43 PM

WO1 Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 13:43:56 -0400

I have been down voted, and I have down voted.
Usually for people not adding to the discussion, or arguing for points unrelated to the original topic, etc.
What I think is unhelpful is points. Because of that people take down voting personally. Most people I have down voted have then gone and down voted me back, sometimes on unrelated topics.
Votes just rate that particular comment. And that's where it should stay. This post is +1, another +10, another -2, etc. Instead of this post gave me 50 points, that one 500, another -60, etc.

Response by PO1 John Miller made Jul 9 at 2015 2:02 PM

PO1 John Miller — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 14:02:33 -0400

Like COL Jean (John) F. B., I feel that an explanation should be required for a down vote.

Then like SrA Edward Vong, I try to reserve my own down votes not for posts I disagree with but ones that show a complete lack of professionalism. I ALWAYS leave a comment when I down vote explaining why.

Response by Capt Jeff S. made Jul 9 at 2015 2:03 PM

Capt Jeff S. — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 14:03:01 -0400

What sets Rallypoint apart from other social networks is the concept of Influence Score. It's semi-helpful. If nothing else, it lets you know if others like what the person is saying... but it doesn't do enough to separate true leaders from people who sit at home in their underwear creating and responding to discussions all day. In my opinion, people that are real leaders aren't glued to Rallypoint. Most are away from the keyboard living in the real world, not the virtual world of the Internet.

There was a time when I followed influence score, but I don't much care anymore. Influence score is partially helpful in determining who might give good advice, but the awards system does a better job of letting you know if lots of people agree with what that person is saying. The more Nice Question, Thought Leader, Good Response, etc. badges a person has, the more potential they have to give good advice as I see it because that means what they said resonated with more people.

I see a purpose for downvoting. It separates Rallypoint from other social media such as Facebook. With that said, tit for tat downvoting is common and I have lost well over a thousand points to drive by downvoters that didn't have the courtesy to explain their downvotes. Do I care if people downvote my opinions? Well, I'll just put it this way. I don't let the thought of getting downvoted or complained about stop me from saying what needs to be said.

Rallypoint doesn't require explanation and that allows people to drive by downvote. I don't see that as constructive. I believe that Rallypoint should implement a policy that if someone downvotes, they must explain it or the downvote goes away. That would be difficult to implement though because someone could leave a comment totally unrelated to the downvote and it would require human intervention to enforce.

Another possibility is to simply make downvotes not count against one's influence score. That takes away the punishment incentive.

Rallypoint recently implemented a block feature. It solves the problem, not by taking away the incentive to downvote; rather, it gives those downvoted a means to protect themselves from serial downvoters. That said, even the block feature can be abused. Unlike Facebook, which makes people you block invisible, Rallypoint lets you see everything they say, so they can keep on annoying you with their comments. They can't comment to you directly but they can still comment on discussions you start so long as they are commenting to someone else's comment.

I've used the block feature twice: once as a preventive measure to keep an annoying member who blocked me from unblocking me temporarily to answer something I wrote, and then reblocking me so I couldn't respond; and once to nip a serial downvoter in the bud.

Blocking is sort of a half solution to dealing with problem members, but it's better than it was. People no longer have to worry about serial downvoters trashing their Influence Score -- not that it matters. Perhaps if Rallypoint put in a users profile how many downvotes they gave out, that would be incentive for some to not serial downvote.

Response by SGT Francis Wright made Jul 9 at 2015 4:26 PM

SGT Francis Wright — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 16:26:22 -0400

I say pass it up; because any down votes I have ever gotten, came with no explanation. So I never knew what that person did not like.

Response by SSG Sean Gallagher made Jul 9 at 2015 8:57 PM

SSG Sean Gallagher — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 20:57:28 -0400

CPT Jared Speaks lol.

Response by MSgt Chris Adams made Jul 9 at 2015 9:10 PM

MSgt Chris Adams — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 21:10:27 -0400

I have no issue with down votes. We all defended the right to agree or disagree, go for it. With the rest of the country forgetting this, it is nice to know we few are adult enough to have good discussions that actually make you think.

Response by LCpl Mark Lefler made Jul 9 at 2015 9:21 PM

LCpl Mark Lefler — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 21:21:02 -0400

I think down votes should require a comment, drive by down voting isn't conducive to conversation.

Response by MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca made Jul 9 at 2015 9:38 PM

MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 21:38:16 -0400

I never down vote, just a personal preference. I grew up with, "If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything" I think a down vote only has meaning if you explain why you are down voting. Up votes are easy - yes I agree with or dig what you have to say. But down votes not so much unless you know what it's for. Did I tick someone off, does some one not agree with me? This discussion as SGT Ben Keen points out has been going on since RP began and RP has put some pop-ups in place asking you to leave a comment if you down vote and insuring you are making the down vote willingly so the system has improved. Kudos to those who at least explain their down vote. COL Jean (John) F. B. is very good about it and very respectful when he has done it which helps keep you engaged in the discussion and lets you want to explain your points and differences of opinion.

Response by SPC Rory J. Mattheisen made Dec 19 at 2015 1:00 AM

SPC Rory J. Mattheisen — Sat, 19 Dec 2015 01:00:21 -0500

If there is a valid reason for a down vote I say use it, but if you merely disagree then move on.

Response by PO3 Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 30 at 2015 12:38 PM

PO3 Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 30 Dec 2015 12:38:19 -0500

then ... thumb up should be eliminated too. :)

Response by Sgt Tom Cunnally made Feb 13 at 2016 5:25 PM

Sgt Tom Cunnally — Sat, 13 Feb 2016 17:25:01 -0500

I don't down vote or block ...

Response by LTC Kevin B. made Feb 13 at 2016 5:38 PM

LTC Kevin B. — Sat, 13 Feb 2016 17:38:12 -0500

I don't downvote replies or comments within a thread; I'll just ignore those (most of the time) if I strongly disagree. However, I'll downvote a main post (i.e. the question) if I think it is inappropriate for RP (for instance, if it appears to serve no purpose other than someone trolling). When enough people downvote, the post will be reviewed for possible removal.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 13 at 2016 10:37 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 13 Feb 2016 22:37:01 -0500

After I first joined rally point I used my iPhone to log on to the site. One night I accidently dragged my finger across a Civil Affairs LTC/MAJ (can't remember) and the sensitive screen activated the thumbs down link. I felt a little bad for having allowed my fat fingers get the best of me without my knowledge. Needless to say, I issued an apology once I recognized what I had done.

It doesn't really bother me because people are entitled to their opinions, but if they vote a thumbs down and fail to report why, well that is unacceptable.