Up & Down votes

Question

I recently received my tenth down vote. I do not have an issue with giving out or receiving votes (conforming to the'like'- civilization). I do ask myself however why I got the (last) down vote ... If I do not know what it was for, on which post it was, so I cannot correct for the future (the basic principle of feedback). 

We all more or less have to deal with our ego's, every now and then we forget and perhaps (speaking for myself) say or do something in a brutish and uncivil way. But though I'm humbly pleased for the attention (aware of the fact that I might come over as attention seeking) - I've received 138 up votes and 895 thank yous - not counting those offline - and thankful to be part of this family, I wonder if it is possible to somehow also know why a thumbsdown is given (anon will suffice) ... With the sole purpose for correction in the future. Otherwise it doesn't make sense ...

I also wonder how does the amount of down votes impact on one's eventual eligiliby to be a leader (or any other role for that matter ...)

Comments

The votes make no impact on Eligibility to be a Leader. You wont know you have been Nominated as a Leader until your asked to except a position as one.  Consistant efforts to help as you have do

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Philip,

I have also wondered about why I got a down vote and have the same feeling as you.  I don't think I even need a comment about why, though - just knowing WHICH of my contributions got the vote would be enough for me.

Just last night, I found out about one.  I asked a question about interest in a Holocaust project.  Someone responded, saying they couldn't understand why it would have gotten a down vote.  I never would have known because when I saw that response the up vote count was positive.

I hope it's not arrogance on my part, but I decided that there was nothing even remotely offensive in what I had written and I wrote it off to the down voter likely having some personal prejudices.

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It's my impression that some readers award a thumbs-down vote whenever you express an opinion with which they disagree.  That strikes me as being not a very productive contribution to a forum in which differing opinions are often discussed, but to each his own I guess.

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Yes, that's my impression as well, Dennis.  It also happens when someone makes a suggestion that is not popular.

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I think I'm confused, but that's not unusual for me.

What, exactly, is the purpose of an up/down vote system?  I would think it is intended for you to indicate that you like or do not like what the person said, which - to my mind - is, in most cases, identical to sharing or not sharing an opinion they expressed.  I realize that some comments are giving information rather than expressing an opinion - in those, the up/down seems to be to indicate you think this is a very good question or that you think it does not belong in the G2G forum.

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If there's a discussion that becomes, for lack of a better word, an argument, people use the up and down buttons to pick a side.  It adds some emotion into these conversations when folks see their part of the argument receiving thumbs down.  In my opinion that is counter-productive.

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Good point, Kyle!  Thank you - that had not occured to me.

I have used up votes for questions that address something that I think a lot of people will be helped by - usually in the nature of how to do something, either from using WikiTree capabilities to finding genealogy information.

I have also used up votes for answers to the "how do I ..." questions that are thoroguh and clear.

In addition, I have used up votes for questions and answers that express opinions that I share and/or admire.  I suppose some might consider this in the "picking sides" category, but  I have never voted anyone's opinion down, though, and never will.

I have only used down votes in a very few instances, when I thought the question or answer was improper in some way - either rude, attempting to find a way to do something that is not permitted, etc.  I recall one that was asking Chris to give him/her proprietary information about WikiTree's software.

Answer 1

Hi Philip

As others have said, voting is most likely someone expressing their opinion on an  answer you've given or the thought that went into a question you've asked. I don't think it has anything to do with judging your ability as a genealogist or ability to lead.

Looking at your contributions, thank yous, project participation, etc; I'd say you will become a leader sooner than later.

Comments

Not trying to be cynical here - on the contrary - (thanks for the kind words everyone) but what I gather looking at all the comments and answers, is that a vote is in the eye of the beholder; in the context of that particular person's take on the issues and discussion and has no real bearing on reality or truth or opinions of the other's joined in the discussion - it is wholly self-indulgent. As such in line with the societal characteristics of the social-media dominated times we live in ....

I have to choose to do the right thing, want to stay the right course, so it all comes down to trust in myself, my capabilities and the knowlegde that nobody is perfect; that correction is at times appropriate or necessary, which means that my initial plea for the 'why' of a down-vote is a valid one, though perhaps technically tricky ...

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Philip, if I could upvote a comment, your score would have just gone up a notch.

Answer 2

I  do not think that you have anything to worry about. You have not received many down votes. I for one do not worry about the up and down votes or even what is needed to become a leader. I joined Wikitree to improve my familys heritage and help make it available to others who would research my relatives. I do not really check the number of votes or even badges because I would prefer to spend my time doing research and adding sources, those are the most important things on WikiTree

Comments

And now someone (oh, but why ...  and who for what ... !?!) has given me another down vote ... despite having received 6 more up-votes this way the voting loses all meaning to me ... 

What rests is just humbly and happily plodding forward doing research, adding sources, merging and getting profiles protected ...

Thanks to all those who have patience and are sincere and give reasons and explain ... 

 

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Keep in mind that in most cases, people are down voting your suggestion or opinion, not down-voting you personally.  

The other thing to know is that sometimes people meant to click up but clicked down by accident.  This is particularly easy to do when tapping on a smartphone or tablet. I know.

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My intention from now on will be to post a comment with every down-vote to explain why I gave out that down-vote so the reason can be clear for everyone to see.

Answer 3

Sometimes it might be a mistake -  Clicking the wrong arrow ???

Comments

I like your style Colin!  The glass is always half full.  Mags

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That's my thought too Colin.

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I have definitely made this mistake. And you can't change it once made.

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The first week I was on Wiki tree which was this month I too made this mistake and voted down when I meant to vote up. I felt bad but did not know how to change it.

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Just FYI ~

I too, just now voted down by mistake on a question.  I immediately voted up to, hopefully, correct it.  Then I checked my own G2G profile page, and the down vote did not register as given out by me (yet).  So hopefully this would also apply to the G2G profile of the person that answered the question I was voting on.

Answer 4

I love this question, on many different levels, but will only address one aspect that I haven't seen addressed here yet.

I'm a high-school math teacher, and try to find topics in my classroom that will engage/surprise my students. Voting theory is one of those topics. It turns out that there are different ways determine winners when there are multiple candidates, as well as different rules for voting – everyone may cast a single yes vote (or no vote), or everyone can be allowed two or three or many yes (or no) votes. In a vote between two options, the outcome is pretty much the same no matter what system of voting or tallying is used.

However, when more than two options are present, things get much more complicated. For example: should we spend our time on (a) direct ancestors, (b) collateral relatives, or (c) improving documentation. My answer would be yes! they are all important. I could upvote all three because I think they are all important. But perhaps I think the most important thing we could do is get DNA samples from more people, or record interviews with our elders. A downvote to all three of the topics could show that I think something is missing from the options presented.

But what if I thought all three were important, but that improving documentation was what WikiTree really needed right now; or I felt that all three were important, but that we were already doing exceptionally well when it came to documentation. This is when things start getting interesting in voting theory. The "winner" in an upvote system may actually be the option that the majority of the people think is the worst option, and the "looser" in an upvote system can be the only option that most of the people would be satisfied with.

Sometimes, having a downvote option can better represent the position of the "majority" better than an upvote system. Having both options... well, people who don't like a solo-system (up or down) may prefer that to the alternatives.

I know this doesn't deal with the emotional impact of having something downvoted, nor with the desire for feedback so we can improve, but my students find it fascinating – especially when they realize that "splitting the vote" can ensure that the least favored candidate will win.