Down votes why isn't there a popup that prevents a down vote without an explanation??

Question

Why is there not a pop up asking for a reason for making a down vote?

I think it would make Wikitree a much more friendly and helpful place to be!

I don't mind getting down votes as long as someone can explain why, if I answered right out of context or of the subject or was not of any help at all, then by all means give me a down vote, but at least tell me why so that I can learn what it is that you don't like.

Comments

I think it's because the third-party forum software used for G2G doesn't support that feature.  I agree it would be a great improvement.

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Thank you Herbert, yes you are right, but how is anyone supposed to learn if their mistakes are not pointed out?

Before you can award a badge or nominate someone as a wonderful Wikitreer you must first explain why!

Why cant the IT guys make it the same for down votes?

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I agree Shaun, and the downvote feature gets frequent discussion here for just that reason.

There is a similar problem with the flag feature.  It's meant to alert the moderators to problematic posts, but it doesn't let the flagger explain his or her objection.

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Yes very sad, I have seen this very discussion here on G2G as you have mentioned, but nothing gets done about it. Are we wasting our breath here? Is there a better way perhaps to bring about changes? someone we can contact directly who might see how disturbing this is to a lot of Wikitreer's

Just last week I saw how traumatic a down vote is to some members, not to mention embarising.

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I'm certain the Powers are aware of it, because they do monitor and sometimes participate in G2G discussions.  For direct contact, I think e-mail to info@wikitree.com is the best option.

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LOL I just got a downvote for posing the question about cults.  I am shocked and devastated.

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Herbert and Shaun,

Hopefully if we persist in commenting and asking then something will eventually be done although I understand there's so much that keeps our wikitree leaders busy!

I posted the below question last month and had a wonderful response from our community, one of our newest members answered at the bottom of the answers and I think posted about this the other day but i've temporarily lost the post! These down votes are confusing to the experienced, how must the new guys feel?? Think it would put me off g2g!

An upote from me for this question :-)

https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/612217/another-rant-about-downvoting-thanks-for-listening

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Herbert is right, G2G uses third-party software (http://www.question2answer.org) and there isn't an add-on that enables something like this.

Time is better spent improving WikiTree instead of the Question2Answer software. But the Q2A software does get updates occasionally, so maybe this will be an option in a future version.

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Thanx for the link Lizzie, yes I remember seeing that one. Just wanted to rub it in a bit with the hope of having someone attend to the issue.

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Thank you for your comment Jamie

Answer 1

Excellent suggestion!  If there was some kind of screen that asked if someone was sure they wished to do a down vote, and gave them an opportunity to clarify what they had in mind, that would be a big improvement for the recipient--and often for the voter, too.

Apparently, many people hit the 'down' vote without meaning to.  Some of them later discover this has happened at some point, and wish to change it--and it is possible to check back through recent activity and make changes, but sometimes these accidental keystrokes are hard to find if they happened a long time ago. 

Here's a link to an older thread where this was discussed, with answers and comments by some WikiTreers who accidentally made down votes, and then attempted to rectify the situation:

Help! I gave out four down votes today and it wasn't my intention!​
https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/516135/help-gave-out-four-down-votes-today-and-it-wasnt-my-intention

 

Comments

Yes I see your point Cynthia and yes I know it is quite possible to make a mistake on a touch screen Phone. I have not as yet as I know how easy a finger slip happens, I zoom the screen up real big then select.

My opinion sad to say is that a lot of times a down vote is deliberate.