Some link aggregates have "reaction buttons" - OMG, Epic, LOL, Fail, WTF, and stuff like that.

I think it would be cool if someone would make a forum with separate feedback for..

• I personally benefited or learned from this ... TIL

• I denotatively think this is factually correct / incorrect ... green checkmark vs. red X

• connotative yay / boo... :) vs :(

• visibility vote - as in, I want this to be more / less visible to others... open eye vs. closed eye

Under this system, the visibility vote would play the function of the primary up-down vote and the "TIL" would be a separate marker of quality, which people could sort by if they wanted. The purpose of the other two feedback forms are primarily to provide an outlet for signalling agree/disagree without adversely influencing visibility - you might want to make a distasteful opinion, common misconception, or well formed argument for an opposing viewpoint visible without creating the impression that it's supported and correct. You might want to make applause or jokes less visible without signaling displeasure or disagreement.

Realistically though, a lot of users have talked about deep changes to LW's website functioning in the past, and it doesn't seem like anyone's up for actually doing it. It is kind of a hard job to do.

Alternately, distinguish upvotes ("This is a good contribution") from promotion votes ("This is a significant contribution on an LW core topic").