I agree, but what about those posts which you don't feel confident enough about to vote either way? You never get to see their rating. Many times I don't want to vote on a post, but would like to see the rating (i.e. after forfeiting my vote on that post). Perhaps there could be (yet another) vote option for not voting on a post.
sure, why not...+, -, o, and a for abstain. of course, it starts to get confusing and take up screen real estate...if you combine this with that other post that said we ought to rip off /. with interesting/insightful/etc., then a drop down box will be necessary.