ArisKatsaris comments on Any existential risk angles to the US presidential election? - Less Wrong

-9 Post author: Stuart_Armstrong 20 September 2012 09:44AM

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Comment author: ArisKatsaris 21 September 2012 07:35:46PM *  -1 points [-]

Honestly I'm getting tired of people gasping in a horror at the idea that in a readership of hundreds, a single person downvoted them. I also get downvoted. I don't always feel those downvotes are deserved. Sometimes those comments get upvoted back to zero or beyond, sometimes not. I don't keep complaining about every single downvote that I feel is undeserved, wasting time and space.

I've not downvoted you, but speaking generally I'm very likely to downvote people complaining about downvotes.

Comment author: [deleted] 22 September 2012 12:18:20PM *  4 points [-]

Your annoyance has been noted. Keep in mind, though, that I had asked a question in an attempt to see things from Eugine_Nier's point of view, and that at the time I made the complaining post I hadn't gotten an answer yet, but had been down-voted for my trouble. It's poor practice for the community to punish people who make an effort to examine the evidence against their strongly-held opinions, and it's in my best interests to rail against community behaviour that gets in the way of my own learning. I certainly don't make a habit of whingeing about every loss of karma that seems unjustified to me - if I thought the loss of karma was deserved then I wouldn't have made the post in the first place - but I reserve the right to kick up a stink if I think people's down-votes are obstructing rational process. And, of course, I'm willing to cop any further karma loss that I take as a result as having been sacrificed for a worthy cause. So, go ahead down-voting complainers if that's what makes you happy, but I'd respectfully like to tender the suggestion that occasionally complaining is the right thing to do.