A collection of thoughts, references, and ideas gathered during the research process. On PhyleNET, on the early internet, on what gets remembered and what gets lost, and on what it might mean to build networked spaces around human needs rather than growth.
started 17 days ago, updated 8 days ago, and containing 49 pins
Pinned in pond originals
https://stackoverflow.blog/2009/03/09/the-value-of-downvoting-or-how-hacker-news-gets-it-wrong/
In building Stack Overflow, we realized the intrinsic informational value of full range post scores. Downvotes give you the critically important ability to distinguish between the good, the bad, and the ugly. Without downvotes, how can you possibly tell the difference between a post that is harmless but uninteresting, and one that is actually wrong or harmful? […] You have to believe there are potential consequences for every post you make — both good and bad. This is how things work on real playgrounds; why would we expect our web playgrounds to be any different?
The idea of a world where nobody can be downvoted strikes me as more than a little utopian. Is it realistic for users to expect to post in an environment where there are no penalties at all, no way for their peers to express disapproval or disagreement with their post? That’s why disallowing downvotes is actively harmful to community.
