I have been on enough web boards in both the arts and sciences that I have learned not to be bothered by downvotes in and of themselves.

What does bother me is a downvote without an accompanying rationale in a comment.

Why? For the simple reason that no one can learn anything from it.

In my opinion, if a downvote appears without an accompanying rationale in a comment, the questioner should have the right to petition the mods for a reversal of the vote. This protocol will prevent ANY site from that well-known death-spiral in which the social psychology of the site gradually becomes more important to its members than the value of any shared content.

What do you think?