What's so terrible about being downrated, even with no explanation? It doesn't affect our points totals, and happens to everyone. And why does it seem to bother some people more than others?
by 
Jodie44
ANSWERS: 23
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Because there are some people who are on AnswerBag 24/7 because they have disfunction IRL so they in a subconcious way the point system on AB helps big their ego, where it's currently deprived IRL. :)
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I think it's because, especially on some answers/quesetions more than others, we are very proud of them. I don't know about you, but anytime someone puts you down for something you're proud of, it at least bugs me a bit. I'm not saying I care a lot anymore about it, but I still never like seeing something I was so happy I wrote get attacked without a reason. Or another time, it's just annoying when people DR you when you specifically say it's an opinion. DR's are meant for when something is not helpful, not when they dislike your opinion. For me though, it's mostly the first one that I do get irritated at when I notice.
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Very good question. I think they either think it is like a game ,who gets there first or they need the attention, all positive so the negatives rill them,they think they are loosing something!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I don't get the big deal either, and at the risk of being attacked, I downrate without explaination, do I really need to write "I think this is a stupid/wrong answer/Question" everytime? Obviously not or Answerbag would be built that way.
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I think it is because they don't realize it doesn't affect our points totals. Maybe after they read your question they will just let it blow over when it happens...especially not leaving any comment at all to the troll. Thanks for trowing the question out there for all of the newcomers to see.
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It's worse than death! I sure hope it never happens to me. What a nightmare that must be! My heart goes out to anyone who has ever been downrated, for any reason whatsoever (with the exception of terrorists, we all know THEY deserve whatever they get!) The pain, the horror of it! The sleepless nights, not knowing if someone might be downrating you even in your sleep! How terrible it must be. I only hope that someday (*cue dramatic music*), we can all share Answerbag in peace and harmony... knowing that we're all one big happy family that agrees on all key matters... united in our feelings of niceness and pleasantry... holding hands in a united round-the-world chain of realization that the minus button is obsolete! May freedom ring!!
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Its not a big deal to me for every DR i get i get about 10 good ratings so it dosent bother me at all
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Personally, I don't care about being downrated. But give me a reaons why. Explain why you think my answer was so horrible. I like to hear what people have to say. I'm curious to know how many downrate because they have valid arguments, and how many downrate because the answer I provided wasn't what they like to hear.
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Most of the time, I feel that my answer doesn't deserve to be downrated. This stems from the fact that I hate maxime being wrong, or even just being told that I'm wrong whether or not it's true. It makes me angry with myself that I could not do better. Also, it lowers your points received percentage, and I don't like the thought that some ass can just come in and ruin my 97% that took me half a year to build. For most normal people however, I think they are more interested in just getting points, or maybe just don't understand that they aren't actually losing points.
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I was given -4 yesterday. I was gutted as I just tried to help someone, but when I looked at my answer compared to others, I was giving an absolutely wrong answer. Then I realised I deserved it. I -ve ratings are just a hint that there is something wrong with the answer.
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Interaction in AB means different things to different people. I must admit when I first came I was oblivious of, and shocked to discover , how to some people, points are almost like a virtual currency of self-worth, rather than an objective rating of "helpfulness" [ Hey - notice how its now simply "rate Q/A", rather than the previous "Helpful / not-helpful" ?]. Either way, I find it fascinating how, without strict interpretive guidelines, AB-culture has developed almot like an 'emergent phenonmenon' (http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/local/scisoc/emergence/)
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i know. I was bugged by it at first,but after awhile i thought I know some of my answers will not be liked and i will probably be downrated,but i am here to try and help people and hopefully people will help me in return.I really like coming here ti interact with others.
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I don't really hold a lot of regard for the points system as it's not a true indication of intelligence, ability or how helpful a question or answer really is. It doesn't bother me to any great degree but I can certainly understand that being down rated may be a little upsetting or defeating to those people who are genuinely trying to offer helpful answers and also to those who are being down rated for answering "opinion" based and "do you agree" based questions. That said - I don't believe an explanation is required or necessary in all cases. For Example: I don't really like down rating but have just done so on a very vulgar and not nice answer here on ab. It was disgusting. I could have left a comment but truthfully ? - I just don't feel the need to explain or justify my decision to do so and couldn't be bothered opening up communication with the person who posted it. :)
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I don't think it's so terrible, but I don't like it. Not because I measure my self-worth by it, or because I think it affects my final totals, but because if my answer didn't deserve to be downrated, then I think it's kind of rude. I guess I feel like it's as if somebody came up to me in the middle of a conversation and said, "That's a stupid thing to say." And then walked off. It wouldn't bother me enough to chase after them and yell. But it would bug me, sort of like, "What's their problem?" So I guess that's how I feel, in a rambling sort of way.
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It used to bother me, but no longer does. It is evidence of someone simply wanting to strike out at an answer that is disagreeable to them..probably political in nature..the "downrater Police" are very strident about that which they will allow and that which they want to punish..so now when I am downrated I take it as an honorable thing..I have made them show their true selves, and it is not a pretty sight. :)
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It doesn't borhter me that much... but the small amount it does bother me is nothing to do with the points or percentage + ratings received, it's the principle, they should give a reason, as most trolling is completely unwarranted and I'd rather know why they do it. x
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I don't have any problem at all with being downrated sometimes for a fair reason, but, when someone gets upset over a stupid reason, and, then, just goes on a downrating rampage against me, it does piss me off. I probably shouldn't care, but, I don't like that at all.
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I feel it makes one sad when downrated. It is fine to be downrated, but if anyone is giving a downrating point, i request them to comment on why they downrated. This makes us realise our mistake and correct ourselves. It gives us an oppurtunity to learn. We should just not be downrated becuase someone dislikes the subject or did not understand.
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I couldn't care less personally - I don't have ratings showing in my profile and rarely notice anything to do with the points side of things.
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I just don't like to be DRed for my opinion just because someone doesn't share it. Clint Eastwood-"Opinions are like assholes, everybody's got one."
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I think it's just petty most of the time. There really isn't a need for negative points - it just creates a negative atmosphere. They were probably created to indicate incorrect answers, and I think I already said this, but an incorrect answer should simply be known by its lack of points, and rude answers just get flagged. So downrating has mostly just become a way to be rude to someone, in the context of trolls, or it can be a way to show that you disagree, which seems unnecessay because usually opinions are harmless and therefore not incorrect. so most of the time, it carries a very negative connotation, either someone is telling you your opinion is wrong, or someone is trying to be annoying. So, some people handle this better than others - some people will ignore a little kid sticking their tongue out at them, and some people will yell at the kid. Some people can ignore someone insisting their opinion is wrong, and others are offended. Everyone reacts differently.
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It annoys me - it's not terrible, just annoying. I would rather someone just tell me - with the neg - why they don't agree. I may learn something! Or, they might. It just seems a little...cowardly.
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It's not so much the single downrate that is bothersome to me, it is the group downrate. Every day I have a group of questions and answers of mine, some that are from way way back that get a bunch of -1, -2 and -3 rates. All on the same little group of Q's or A's in a window of time. This tells me there is some sort of coordinated effort to drive my questions and answers into the negative and hurt my % rating for Q's and A's. They never mess with one that say has 58 points for instance. They choose ones that have 10-15 positive points so that they can more easily drive those down into the negative range. I have a good idea who they are and it irritates the hell out of me that when I try to point out what they are, others see it as me attacking them and chastise and dowrate me. The bottom line is my hater-trolls are winning and I can't do a damn thing about it. This bothers me for some reason.
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