Vote Up or Down: What factors do you consider when voting?

2013-12-26T14:03:13-05:00

So while reading the discussion linked below, I saw that people were wondering why certain comments were voted down/up.  That got me thinking as to why people on here decide to vote they way they do on these forums.  While I look at social media and forums like this as a place to share to ideas and expand my knowledge; it's interesting to see what discussions get a lot of Up Votes and others that get Down Votes. <div><br></div><div>Do you base your decision on if you agree/disagree with what the person is posting?  Does it have to do with your feelings toward the subject matter?  Are you more willing to vote a discussion up if it appears to be helpful to the general public here on RP?  Do you vote something down if you think the discussion is pointless?  If you vote something down, do you feel the need to share why?  Would you share if asked to?</div><div class="pta-link-card"><div class="pta-link-card-picture"><img src="https://www.rallypoint.com/assets/fb_share_logo.png"></div><div class="pta-link-card-content"><div class="pta-link-card-title"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.rallypoint.com/questions/26679-new-tattoo-policy">New tattoo policy</a></div><div class="pta-link-card-description">While briefing some young leaders about the direction the Army is going with tattoo's, an NCO yells out that's why I'm going to fully tattoo both arms in hopes to be grandfathered in. Is that a sign ...</div></div><div style="clear:both"></div><div class="pta-box-hide"><i class="icon-remove"></i></div></div>

Response by 1SG Steven Stankovich made Dec 26 at 2013 2:48 PM

2013-12-26T14:48:05-05:00

<p>Well, here is my take on voting up or down...</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>1.  Vote Up:  I generally vote a question/post/comment up for a few reasons...this is not an all-inclusive list.  I vote up for good questions, answers that obviously took some thought before posting, factual, and to be quite honest, if I like it or not.  I generally "vote up" answers to questions that I post.  Again, that is not an all-inclusive list...</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>2.  Vote Down:  I will only vote down for a few reasons...again, not all inclusive.  If it is an obvious personal attack (name calling, meant to incite negativity), if it lacks thought or is just rambling that does not have anything to do with the original post/question.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>Also, If I do vote down something, I will leave a comment so that person knows why I did it.  I would expect the same courtesy in return.  Also, I do not vote down a comment/post/question because I do not "like it" or disagree with it.  I believe that disagreeing with a point of view can be a healthy thing and it can be used to grow a knowledge base or assist with looking at an issue from a different point of view.</p>

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 26 at 2013 4:33 PM

2013-12-26T16:33:52-05:00

I will never vote down and I do not plan to start. I can disagree but do that while replying. Again respectfully.

Response by SSG Laureano Pabon made Dec 26 at 2013 6:00 PM

2013-12-26T18:00:10-05:00

I voted you up on this thread because while I don't vote down, I always vote up. If I disagree with something I might as well state it, then vote someone down and have 30 points deducted from the overall score for that member.

Response by CPO Jon Campbell made Dec 26 at 2013 7:26 PM

2013-12-26T19:26:19-05:00

I vote up often, but I don't think I have ever voted anything down. It is a good deterrent to prevent people from flaming though.

Response by LTC Yinon Weiss made Dec 26 at 2013 10:42 PM

2013-12-26T22:42:25-05:00

Good points all around. We decided to capture the community's sentiment and post it as formal guidance for future members. Please see the links below:

Guidance on UP voting:

http://support.rallypoint.com/customer/portal/articles/1401605-up-voting

Guidance on DOWN voting:

http://support.rallypoint.com/customer/portal/articles/1401594-down-voting

DOWN Voting

What is voting down?

Voting down, or "down voting", is how the community that a member's post is not hel...

UP Voting

What is up voting?

Voting up, or "up voting", is a way the community provides feedback that a member's p...

Response by CSM Michael Poll made Mar 26 at 2014 5:52 PM

2014-03-26T17:52:24-04:00

I will never vote down a person, I will merely disagree with them by commenting. Just me I guess I am strange that way. That is unless the comment is so out of line it doesn't belong in this professional environment.

Response by LTC Yinon Weiss made Jun 18 at 2014 11:26 AM

2014-06-18T11:26:55-04:00

There are little thumbs up and thumbs down icons under to the poster's image. You click on one of up or down thumbs to vote up or down.

Also, welcome to RallyPoint!

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 18 at 2014 11:34 AM

2014-06-18T11:34:48-04:00

use the little thumbs you see in the picture. They are below the persons actual profile pic where they posted. If your browser does not show the thumbs the option is still there you just have to get in the same vicinity as shown in the pic

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 18 at 2014 11:41 AM

2014-06-18T11:41:53-04:00

You can only up vote 50 times per day though so use them carefully.

Response by Capt Jeff S. made Apr 28 at 2015 11:35 PM

2015-04-28T23:35:21-04:00

The down voting feature, while good in theory, tends to turn some discussions into Facebook high school drama. More often than not, folks do not bother to mention why they downvoted or they do it out of spite. Am kind of torn as to its effectiveness in influencing discussion in a constructive manner.

Response by SFC Mark Merino made Sep 28 at 2016 6:25 PM

2016-09-28T18:25:50-04:00

http://youtu.be/t8RCQDDsMpU

Movie Quotes: "If You strike me down"(Star Wars IV)

Star wars quote

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 9 at 2020 1:12 AM

2020-07-09T01:12:08-04:00

For the most part, up/down voting as it exists here is nearly pointless. There are so many ways to earn points and game the system that the points from up/down votes don't really make an impact - as far as I can tell.

With that said:
UPVOTE:
* Humor - I laughed, snickered, etc
* Politics - There was input into the discussion
* Military - Marine Corps! Oohrah! jk. Again, there was input into the discussion.
* Music - I personally like the song and/or group

DOWNVOTE:
* Name calling
* Straw man argument
* Refusing to engage in the discussion - usually with derogatory or back handed insults

If my vote history was ever looked up I am pretty sure it would show 1 downvote for every 300 or 400 upvotes. I usually do not vote on "Nice post" or "Thanks for the share" comments - which seem to nab most of the Trail Blazer points from my posts.