It's more informative for writers than readers, IMO.

Some of my most upvoted posts were ones where I was venting and expected to be dinged on. I often get downvoted for tone, so when a rant gets a large and consistently positive vote, I find that an interesting tell. I don't think I've hit on an interpretation yet, but those are my posts that I should be interpreting. I notice that I am confused, etc.