Upvotes and Downvotes

Dear Duncan,

It's safe to say that this website has gotten beyond the point of being considered just an online forum. It is now a growing community consisting of diverse individuals, who not only boast a wide range of experiences, but also use these experiences to offer their advice or insights to others regularly. But in a community where so many of these helpful and not-so-helpful insights are being offered to individuals looking for answers or support, there is a considerable amount of discord, disorder, and disagreement. All of which must be taken into consideration when you go about improving this site for future online users.

Upvotes and downvotes are a must. And opportunistic users who make berating vulnerable members a sport must be able to have their comments downvoted. The same should go for those hate-filled users who throw racial and homophobic slurs intentionally when backed in a corner or threatened. We most recently had an incident where one such user encouraged another to commit suicide, as they were feeling overtaken by life's difficulties. And though the irresponsible user was reported, the comment remained there to be seen by everyone (including the OP), and was even upvoted by another user. It's unfortunate, because times like these tend to show us exactly what we value as a collective - human decency. But to see such an insensitive and unacceptable comment remain after hours of its posting is, quite frankly, an insult to me, and I'm sure, many others who have attempted to combat it by reporting it.

It goes without saying these comments must somehow be regulated, or better yet, not be allowed under any circumstances...especially in a world where the internet and social media both play a major role in our lives. In light of these things, I ask for there to be a way for certain comments to be downvoted enough for them to be subsequently hidden...to allow for the majority to overpower these insidious users who make comments or remarks online that are meant to antagonize an individual and undermine their sense of worth. Although the upvote-downvote feature may not be a major change to the site, I believe it will, in time, prove to be the most valuable, as it will unify the community as a whole against these dangerous users, especially when it counts.

Thanks.

That's what the report button is for.

A downvote button is nothing but a troll tool, has no benefits whatsoever. Look at Reddit and other sites that use it. Rife with trolls who go downvote-crazy on virtually every post they see.

We don't need it. What we need is moderators who are actually good at their job. When a harmful post is reported, we SHOULD expect it to be looked at and then removed.

Also, like count means nothing. People can like their own posts here.

Posted by DivaCanLeo
Duncan response

Tl:dr

upvote

I miss being able to like my own posts.. 😭