I think you're experiencing what we all experience from time to time... :-)

Be it because the first person voting downvotes our node or because we're replying to an old thread and the only guy who happens to read our reply has had a very bad day... no one really knows why!

The truth is: people vote in very different ways... some vote on content, some vote just to spend their votes, some... might have other reasons... (some people even vote deppending on whether they like the node's author!)

But I agree with you, you shouldn't be downvoted just for saying "Thanks" or "Yes, I was thinking on following that approach".

Update: And now I'm losing experience points too with this reply... :-\ Go figure...

But I agree with you, you shouldn't be downvoted just for saying "Thanks"

But you shouldn't be saying "Thanks" to every response you get, it isn't neccessary and it annoys some

Hey, that's a nice tip! :-D Thanks! :-D

I read that in the FAQ. I guess it depends on the person.

Oh, well. Life's too short and I've got learning to do.

Walking the road to enlightenment... I found a penguin and a camel on the way..... Fancy a yourname@perl.me.uk? Just ask!!!

I think jryan has a nice idea about it...
Read his homenode and make up your mind :-)
I don't like downvotes either, but he, life goes on, and i still have fun in programming, and i still like to help people with perl-programs if i have the time and the knowledge..


"We all agree on the necessity of compromise. We just can't agree on when it's necessary to compromise." - Larry Wall.

Maybe you'd like to s/should/should'nt/? :)

Flavio

Don't fool yourself.

I appreciate "thank you" nodes, and don't much mind nodes that are short, but I think 6 of them in one thread is getting close to the point of wasting time. And there are monks who dislike all "thank you" nodes enough to downvote them - though I don't see the point of that.

Also, practically any node complaining about votes (or even asking about negative votes) will end up with a negative rep.

update: I forgot to mention something that is quite obvious, but I think people forget sometimes: when you post a node with little information in it (like a thank you node), people usually won't find it worth an upvote, even if they appreciate the sentiment, so it'll only take a few downvote to give it a negative score.

In other words, a negative score of -1 .. -4 or so usually indicates a node with little or no information in it, and you probably shouldn't worry too much about it, while -10 or less indicates either a troll, or some really impopular point of view (the latter usually happens in perlmonks discussion, where people tend to vote according to their viewpoint, not according to informational value - I guess that's partly what the discussion category is for).

Personally, I'm a monk that's not real wild about 'thank you' nodes. I appreciate the sentiment, but really, it's just noise. Now, we're all decent people, and I would think that everyone knows the appreciation's there.

Now, what I'm just *crazy* about, is a self-followup that explains what the problem ended up being, how it was solved and any experience gained on the way. I'll upvote that kind of node every time...

Personally, I don't have a problem with an occassional "thanks". I rememeber when I first joined the monestary, I would use them alot. Came to the same realization that they make too much noise. I'll still say thanks occasionaly, particularly if someone goes above and beyond or solves some big headache. Though I'd never downvote someone for it.

As far as followups/solutions, I'll agree, those are the best. You know it's funny, I've been here almost 4 years now, the past year I haven't been around as often, but there is always one constant, the "Voting/XP" node. It seems like the author is the only thing that changes.


-Lee

"To be civilized is to deny one's nature."

I don't want to make you paranoid or anything, but negative votes appearring here, may, or may not, have anything to do with what you have posted.

I have noticed this myself on occaision, and have never mentioned it, but since you have brought up the issue, I will state an observation.

On occaision, I have posted nntp articles which are "critical" of the government. And when doing so, when I log onto perlmonks, I get the "Eek! You have lost 2 points !!" or something similar.

So I have come to realize that "government behavior-modification specialists" have account names on perlmonks ( and thus can vote ). When they get displeased with what you are doing or saying, they may signal that to you, thru downvotes. Maybe you were "ranting and raving about the military-industrial complex, were rude to your girlfriend, or smoked a joint. "

It's all part of life in the "Brave New World", where we are all spied upon, and there is "instant communication" between the spies. So sit back, and enjoy the fact that you are being "noticed". :-)

They do the same thing with spam. If "they" don't like what you are doing or saying, you will start getting spam with threatening subject lines, like "WARNING...before it's too late", or "Do you have enough health insurance?"

P.S. It all seems better, when you take you Soma pill.

Wow. You like conspiracy theories, don't you?


holli, /regexed monk/

If it quacks like a duck........

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I'm not really a human, but I play one on earth. flash japh

Just based on what I've seen your behavior in this thread, I think your problem is basically too many replies. To me, it seems the Monastery gets annoyed when people make a lot of noise in a thread. That's not to say you shouldn't interact, just that you should try to do so in a less noisy way. There are a few ways you can do that.

• You can wait a little while for responses to build up, then respond to a few of them at once (usually you want to do this indirectly, by responding to one post and mentioning others in the context of that response).
• You can post updates to your existing nodes. Anything substantial should probably get a new post, but if you're just saying, "Oh, I see now," or, "Thanks," you should probably post that as an update. For example, if your question has been answered fully, add an update to the bottom of the main post saying, "Thanks for all the responses, I understand now." This is preferable to posting 15 Thank-you replies.
• You can avoid replying at all. Sometimes this is unsatisfying, but replying to everything that could be replied to can get very noisy. The best response is sometimes no response.

Many Monks will tell you that XP doesn't matter, voting doesn't matter, and you shouldn't worry about it. This is true to some extent, but it's still hard to avoid the irrational feelings when your nodes get downvoted. And frequently, a negative node reputation does indicate a problem with the post. A balance must be struck between trying to understand what is wrong with a post and obsessing over the reputation.

And frequently, a negative node reputation does indicate a problem with the post. A balance must be struck between trying to understand what is wrong with a post and obsessing over the reputation.

Of course, if the monks who were "upset" about the node would explain what's wrong with it, the poster could benefit instead of just feeling insulted. But it seems that some monks have taken vows of silence and thus cannot help enlighten those in need of it.

I tend to think of such monks as jackasses (as I've elaborated on here, here, here, and here).

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Caution: Contents may have been coded under pressure.

Although voting affects the owner of the node too, don't forget that voting is mainly setting a value for the node itself.

Please do not get upset about the kind of votes you get on your nodes. Most of the time it is directed at the node itself, and not at you personally.

Points taken. I should have demonstrated, "How I understood it", and followed How To Ask Questions The Smart Way. I have learnt my lesson and will strive to post as I wish others to post in the most helpful and complete way possible.

Walking the road to enlightenment... I found a penguin and a camel on the way..... Fancy a yourname@perl.me.uk? Just ask!!!

You seem to care (too much) about your XP. Too bad, really, that nodes like these (complaining about votes) will usually make you lose even more ;)