Timeline for Systematic downvoting
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
8 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 11 at 16:38 | comment | added | Todd Trimble Mod | Community Management will do the investigation; I'm out of it. All I did was bring this meta thread to their attention (and this is my answer to OP's actual question: ask CM to see if anything's there). | |
| Jan 11 at 15:38 | comment | added | David White | (cont) Some of their questions are very interesting but some of are very niche, involving terms that are not defined, or have errors pointed out in the comments or in the answers. Clearly one of our moderators considers varkor a friend. I think it would be wise not to let that friendship lead to preferential treatment. My view is that, if the software doesn’t flag a voting pattern as "systematic downvoting" then choosing to investigate for some users but not others is preferential. Most people who ask on meta "why was I downvoted" get empathy and encouragement, but not an investigation. | |
| Jan 11 at 15:37 | comment | added | David White | What "feels like harassment" is obviously subjective. I faced the kind of downvoting the OP asks about twice. Once, long ago, on answers I wrote about model categories, when there was some movement to switch everything to $\infty$-categories. And once, a few years ago, on answers that referenced certain papers of mine (I think I know who was responsible, but didn't pursue anything). Regarding varkor's posts, I can say that I've upvoted some and downvoted others (certainly a net positive for varkor). Varkor often gives really nice answers that show a deep understanding of the literature. (cont) | |
| Jan 11 at 14:46 | comment | added | Todd Trimble Mod | @CarloBeenakker In the case of the OP, lack of mathematical rigor is really out of the question. The OP is also among the most courteous people I know here. When downvoting comes to feel like harassment, it needs to be investigated. | |
| Jan 11 at 11:42 | comment | added | Carlo Beenakker | I know of a user who is systematically downvoted because their answers lack mathematical rigor, which is a valid reason on a site for professional mathematicians, although fortunately most colleagues here are more friendly and tolerant to outsiders. And indeed, caring less about reputation is the way to go. | |
| Jan 11 at 7:54 | comment | added | varkor | I also don't need a reason to suspect someone is mad at me to believe it might be happening (nor is someone being mad at me a prerequisite for systematic downvoting). But I agree with your advice that I should just care less about reputation :) | |
| Jan 11 at 7:51 | comment | added | varkor | The software is designed to test serial downvoting, but that does not mean it is completely effective at doing so (as far as we know, the method of detecting serial downvoting is not public). I try to make sure my questions are all clearly written, and no-one has ever commented about their quality. I rarely receive downvotes, so receiving many in a short amount of time on completely different questions, with no underlying theme, and without any justification whatsoever, is suspicious. | |
| Jan 11 at 0:04 | history | answered | David White | CC BY-SA 4.0 |