…And WTF events related to Karma led me to come back here, because Lemmy really surpasses Reddit on all points (even if it cruelly lacks users compared to Reddit).
On some subreddits, we ask to have a Karma in comments good enough on all Reddit to be able to publish one on the community in question (it happened to me on /r/iOSBeta). I don’t know you but these communities shouldn’t get involved in what I do on other Reddit communities, it doesn’t make sense.
Another problem is users who feel superior to others because they have a better Karma. There was a discussion on r/privacy that talked about alternatives to Fire Stick and Chromecast, and one guy had proposed Apple TV, another had replied that Apple was worse than Google and Amazon when it comes to data collection. So to this guy I told him that he would have to be a little clearer by giving evidence. And there, he answers me « You’re a fresh 0-Karma account, you bring proof ».
Well, that’s what Reddit is for me. A huge social game where only Karma allows you to express yourself freely. It reminds me of the episode of Black Mirror where everyone has social points.
In short, I stay on Lemmy.
Even on Reddit, it was originally understood that an upvote was for a comment that contributed to the conversation, or a post that you’d recommend others see, and a downvote was the opposite. But people just naturally want to make them like/dislike buttons. I’ve upvoted lots of comments that I disagreed with as long as I thought they were a good faith contribution to the discussion.
An exception is when the thread is something like advice or an explanation (e.g., why is the sky blue). I’m not upvoting a wrong answer or bad advice regardless of the broader voting philosophy.
That’s where I got the idea from. And that’s actually something I thought was very sane from Reddit, that I bring with me, online and in life in general.
I hover over the down vote button sometimes, and think, "Can I add something to the conversation instead of just down voting? Sometimes I’ll even retract the down vote and replace it with a comment where I ask for more info. Kind of a benefit of the doubt kind of thing.
I personally draw the line at up-voting something I don’t agree with. ✋😅 I’ll admit that. Just because up votes do send a message to others as well, as something “popular”.
In life as well: if I don’t agree with someone, I might go, “What makes you feel that way?”, or “Do you have an example of that?” or whatever. Just so I can take a step back from reacting. With more knowledge of another person’s perspective and feelings, you can more easily persuade them.
And even better, sometimes you might learn a new perspective that gives you a better understanding that changes your mind. Those times are even cooler. 👌
Understood, and that makes sense. I do try to look at the conversational back and forth, not just the individual comment. So if I find myself thinking someone I know should read the whole exchange, I’m more inclined to up vote the individual comments, even the ones I disagree with.
Another exception, though, is anyone being an asshole, even if they make a good point. I prefer conversations to be civil, and don’t want to give any credence to a jerk.
I am absolutely on board with this 😄👍