I agree with you.
As for a good solution, it honestly is a bit of a conundrum. It definitely gives an metric for people's opinions, which is a form of speech. The problem is giving it more power than that, and the quickly becomes a complex discussion.
But given Poal's stated view on the proper use of the downvote, I don't see why they don't just get rid of it and replace it with a Report Spam button. As it is it appears to serve no other purpose than to punish downvoters if the admin (or his algorithm) doesn't agree a post is spam. It has the feel of a risk/reward strategy for teaching an obedient dog.
[edit: also this discussion caused me to vote Maybe, since it is a complex subject, hard to resolve with a yes/no vote]
I agree with you.
As for a good solution, it honestly is a bit of a conundrum. It definitely gives an metric for people's opinions, which is a form of speech. The problem is giving it more power than that, and the quickly becomes a complex discussion.
But given Poal's stated view on the proper use of the downvote, I don't see why they don't just get rid of it and replace it with a Report Spam button. As it is it appears to serve no other purpose than to punish downvoters if the admin (or his algorithm) doesn't agree a post is spam. It has the feel of a risk/reward strategy for teaching an obedient dog.
[edit: also this discussion caused me to vote Maybe, since it is a complex subject, hard to resolve with a yes/no vote]
(post is archived)