Far too often, lately, I see lots of people worried about the number of downvotes, or making preliminary justifications and requests to not downvote particular posts.
Me? I don’t have to think about any of that. The content of the posts and comments determines their quality, not some artificial number that only represents whether people dis/like something.
Edit: Wow, a lot of people from other instances seem really offended that I don’t like downvoting and seem a bit confused that I’d be thanking my admins for something I appreciate.
If you like downvoting, you don’t have to move here. Enjoy your instance’s features. Welcome to the Fediverse.
Easier? Maybe, but I find that option far more dangerous. Mobs are fucking stupid, and they can’t be reasoned with.
No thanks. I’ll trust my moderation to the admins, and if I don’t like it, I can pick a different instance or block people. That’s the beauty of the Fediverse.
And this is exactly my point; I wouldn’t. Adding a -1 isn’t a contribution, in my eyes. It’s an illusion of one. The person doing the critique is doing the actual work, and downvoting is just lazy commentary.
And thus, I’ve made a post directed at the admins of this instance encouraging and thanking them for their decision to keep downvoting turned off. If you aren’t a fan, you can actually find an instance that is more suited to the experience you want and still remain a part of Lemmy and the Fediverse.