I should mention social experiments have shown this approval/disapproval system to be surprisingly successful in curbing radical, unproductive behavior in group environments.
It can also be painful. For some, it may be the first time they find out what the vast or 'silent' majority actually think of them.
This sub used to be manipulated by whoever was the loudest or possessed the most anonymous handles. That's no longer the case and I couldn't be happier for it.
You mean crystalizing the dominant narrative in to collective group think?
There are bots at work here. Looking at the upvotes and downvotes of posts, you would assume that the average reader here was a BLM anarchist rather than a white, middle-aged conservative leaning hobby jogger (and you lefties have been complaining for the last 20 years that the average reader here was such a demographic).
Upvote this post if you are leaving letsrun because of the new voting feature!
I really like the up/down vote system, particularly the down votes. As someone that grew up reading this site through middle school, high school, and is now finishing college I was always turned off by the insane far right banter unavoidably spewed here. In high school I think we all felt this site was just a cesspool because of insistent conservative propaganda that the sites format helped to attract by creating a place for those to speak who were only interested in shouting. I think this update finally gives a balance to some of us with quieter voices, uninterested in arguing, who can express our opinion without having to waste our time debating lunacy. I'm excited by the update, and for younger users who can now engage with one another here, allowing the site to actually become a place that can help foster a creative and healthy culture instead of portraying the world to be this bleek and lost confine in every conversation about the appropriate miles to run per week.
Disagree 100%.
I also grew up visiting this site. I witnessed tons of people unleash mountains of hate towards Galen Rupp and Alberto.
Society should revolve around debate. If you cant articulate why you disagree with someone then you should not hide behind a cheap up down system. You should learn how to engage in healthy debate.
I really like the up/down vote system, particularly the down votes. As someone that grew up reading this site through middle school, high school, and is now finishing college I was always turned off by the insane far right banter unavoidably spewed here. In high school I think we all felt this site was just a cesspool because of insistent conservative propaganda that the sites format helped to attract by creating a place for those to speak who were only interested in shouting. I think this update finally gives a balance to some of us with quieter voices, uninterested in arguing, who can express our opinion without having to waste our time debating lunacy. I'm excited by the update, and for younger users who can now engage with one another here, allowing the site to actually become a place that can help foster a creative and healthy culture instead of portraying the world to be this bleek and lost confine in every conversation about the appropriate miles to run per week.
Disagree 100%.
I also grew up visiting this site. I witnessed tons of people unleash mountains of hate towards Galen Rupp and Alberto.
Society should revolve around debate. If you cant articulate why you disagree with someone then you should not hide behind a cheap up down system. You should learn how to engage in healthy debate.
I see this line of thinking often, and it always make me wonder.....is the purpose of running site to debate? Are people obligated to respond to every senseless statement? Yes, it is valuable to know how to engage in a debate....but when I'm riding a bus or watching a movie or at the library or eating at a restaurant, I'm not obligated to engage with every yahoo who wanders up and wants to start an inane argument. Your line of thinking could be used to defend to right to start yelling at strangers on a bus and pretending like they are morally obligated to engage. You are NEVER going to change a trolls mind by debating him.....so to what benefit is engaging? Downvoting is a way to tell the trolls 'F off and stop ruining the site' and let them know their opinion does not represent the opionion of the forum at large, but without wasting anymore time than is needed. A troll's main goal is to waste your time and frustrate you....so by 'debating' them you are feeding right into their trap. Is it useful to know how to articulate to a flat-earther or a COVID denier that they are wrong? Yes. Is it a good use of time? No. Does anyone else on the forum want to read a 2 page back and forth as you explain to a troll how wrong they are? No.
Yes the groupthink rules the up and down votes. When you see a post you agree with but it has negative 10 or worse rating, why even bother to give it a thumbs-up? Same thing vice-versa--why downvote a post with a net of 10+ thumbs up? It seems pointless. So every post with the new voting system is thus not necessarily indicative of how people truly view it.
But I couldn't care less if I get down voted. In this era, people tend to avoid thinking rationally anyways. They're too caught up in avoiding getting their feelings hurt and rolling with the herd for validation. Although, if you truly are consistently getting off to down voting or even up voting, you should probably do some self introspection as to why you are acting that way. It's not a healthy way of thinking and attaining a dopamine release.
Do the votes matter, or is it more like whose line is it anyway where drew Carey (mods? Bots?)decides who wins? Site doesn’t seem all that different. I’m okay just ignoring the voting.
The blocking function is the best. Also the trap threads that attract the trollios and make it easy to block many at the same time. Registration for posting would be a good idea to follow on from the up/down vote and blocking improvements to the board.
Help us build the best running shoe review site for a chance to win a LetsRun t-shirt.Help us build the best running shoe review site for a chance to win one of 10 LetsRun t-shirts.