The user most likely to engage in retributive downvoting are those who engage in hostile debate and subsequently have low karma ratio's themselves
You are coming to this conclusion on the basis of a single data point, right?
Perhaps you could disable downvoting functionality for those with a karma ratio lower than 75% or 80%?
"Please provide proof of your complete integration with the hive-mind before being allowed near the downvote button" X-D
Do you want LW to become an echo chamber?
Perhaps you could disable downvoting functionality for those with a karma ratio lower than 75% or 80%?
"Please provide proof of your complete integration with the hive-mind before being allowed near the downvote button" X-D
Lumifer, your karma ratio is 80%.
I've gotten sufficient evidence from support that voiceofra has been doing retributive downvoting. I've banned them without prior notice because I'm not giving them more chances to downvote.
I'm thinking of something like not letting anyone give more than 5 downvotes/week for content which is more than a month old. The numbers and the time period are tentative-- this isn't my ideal rule. This is probably technically possible. However, my impression is that highly specific rules like that are an invitation to gaming the rules.
I would rather just make spiteful down-voting impossible (or maybe make it expensive) rather than trying to find out who's doing it. Admittedly, putting up barriers to downvoting for past comments doesn't solve the problem of people who down-vote everything, but at least people who downvote current material are easier to notice.
Any thoughts about technical solutions to excessive down-voting of past material?