• Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    How is anyone on Lemmy silenced by downvotes? Just basic feelings of shame because some people on the internet didn’t like what they said?

    • Arelin@lemmy.zip
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      1 year ago

      People have a tendency to pile on and dismiss any opinion or comment with -1 votes or less instead of properly responding to it, like what’s happening just above this comment. Turns the place into an echo chamber.

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        How does it turn the place into an echo chamber? Why would anyone let that silence them? There are zero repercussions for a downvote on Lemmy.

        Is your ego really so fragile that “people don’t like my comment” is enough to make you stop talking?

        • Arelin@lemmy.zip
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          1 year ago

          Lmao did you even read my comment? Who said anything about not commenting if you’re getting negative votes?

          People have a tendency to pile on and dismiss any opinion or comment with -1 votes or less instead of properly responding to it, like what’s happening just above this comment.

          • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            That comment did not justify your original comment, which was:

            I don’t think downvotes should be a thing at all tbh. Just silences discussion.

            Someone not responding to your post does not silence discussion. Neither do downvotes. No one, not even you, is entitled to a response. Who sees a downvote and decides that they were going to respond but now won’t? That’s ludicrous.

            So as far as- “Who said anything about not commenting if you’re getting negative votes?,” that would be you, who claimed downvotes silenced discussion.

            • Arelin@lemmy.zip
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              1 year ago

              No one is entitled to a response

              Again, did you even read my comment? Pointing out a tendency people have isn’t “entitlement”. People shy away from small numbers and interact with large numbers more.

              Who sees a downvote and decides that they were going to respond but now won’t?

              We literally see this in threads all the time. Negatively voted comments are responded to with one-liners or nothing at all, as if the negative votes somehow prove them wrong.

              Someone not responding to your post does not silence discussion

              Lmao I’ll be “discussing” this topic with my wall now

              • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                You again did not explain how anyone is silenced by downvotes. And we do not “literally see this” because you have no idea if those people who downvoted were ever going to respond.

                • Arelin@lemmy.zip
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                  1 year ago

                  how anyone is silenced by downvotes

                  My comment:

                  I don’t think downvotes should be a thing at all tbh. Just silences anyone discussion.

                  .

                  you have no idea if those people who downvoted were ever going to respond

                  That’s not what I said:

                  People have a tendency to … dismiss any opinion … with -1 votes or less instead of properly responding to it

                  People dismiss it either because it has low visibility since it’s downvoted so people wouldn’t see it, or because of our tendency for big numbers.

                  Taking out downvotes would allow for less popular opinions (that do not break rules by being hateful or spam; you’d report it in those cases) to have higher visibility and discussion since the majority can’t just downvote it, just because they slightly disagree with it or are biased against it, and silence discussion.

                  People who do agree would also be able to show it through upvotes, and it wouldn’t be eaten by the downvotes.

                  Thanks for your comments actually. Got me to think about the benefits more clearly. Discussions are great.

                  • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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                    1 year ago

                    People dismiss it either because it has low visibility since it’s downvoted so people wouldn’t see it, or because of our tendency for big numbers.

                    That is absolutely not how Lemmy works. Downvoting has no effect whatsoever. This is not Reddit.