Down-voting is okay, but when somebody put a down-vote isn't that good practice let know the poster what was wrong with his/her question/answer?

I see many down-votes, people just click down-vote arrow without giving any reason. It shouldn't happen as I see this. Can some strict rule or something be put into these kind of situations? May be more detailed guideline?

marked as duplicate by Paulie_D, Ankit Sharma Jul 21 '17 at 17:44


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    But what kind of strict rule do you want? That we require comments with downvotes, which is the only plausible feature request? Explaining downvotes is a good practice, but making it mandatory would mean you get a lot of useless comments and retaliatory downvotes. – M.A.R. Jul 21 '17 at 17:39
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    People don't have to explain downvotes. It's just part of the SE system. I know that it's a bit frustrating at times, but it's just something that we all have to deal with :) – steelersquirrel Jul 21 '17 at 17:40
  • If you insist on explaining downvotes, then logically you must insist on explaining upvotes too. – Chenmunka Jul 25 '17 at 9:28
  • what I meant by explaining down-votes, so that then poster can improve what's wrong with his question/answer. think in that way – Vishwa Jul 25 '17 at 9:48


Firstly, we don't have to explain why we downvote... the reason is right there when you hover over the downvote arrow.


We're not required to explain further nor should we.

There are many, many Meta posts across most Stack sites on this and the answer has always been NO.

If someone wants to leave a comment, they will but requiring a comment has never been accepted as a feature across any site that I am aware of.

Explaining why we vote usually leads to extended comments and arguments which are rarely useful.

If someone downvotes your questions, ask yourself...

Is this question the best it could be?

Did I thoroughly research for answers elsewhere or even to see if the question has been asked already?

Is it really clear what I am asking for?

Does this question really need to be asked?

The last one is important, does it really add to your enjoyment of the movie to ask why something happened or was done.

If it's not then the question probably isn't useful.

Take a downvote as an indication that something is wrong and review. If at the end of the review you still can't improve the question then you'll just have to take it in stride.

We don't always meet with universal approval...it happens, shrug it off and move on. It's just one vote.

  • I meant for both questions and answers. "This question does not show any research effort; it is unclear or not useful." this one is basically opinion based, dont you think? I mean, hey, even typing a few words take much effort than just clicking on down arrow. If my question/answer is bad, ok, I can move on. but what if Its not bad? not only my questions/answers that I asked. And NO, I didnt ask for mandatory comment, but some improvement on down-voting actions – Vishwa Jul 21 '17 at 17:45
  • @Vishwa It doesn't matter if you think that it's the greatest post in the world. The community has the right to cast down votes without giving any explanation. That's just how the SE system works. Also, protip: don't ask for explanations on down votes in comments or complain about them. This will only attract more down votes. – steelersquirrel Jul 21 '17 at 17:48
  • agreed, but it seems its something like wild-west. no apparent reason, bam! you're dead – Vishwa Jul 21 '17 at 17:50
  • If a strict rule isn't a mandatory requirement...what is it? If you have an actual suggestion, make it. At the moment you haven't. – Paulie_D Jul 21 '17 at 17:50
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    ...and one downvote doesn't kill a post...it's one persons opinion. If you get a lot of downvotes then a lot of people thing you're doing something wrong...that should tell you something. – Paulie_D Jul 21 '17 at 17:52
  • @Vishwa We have all been there. I understand your frustration, but it's best to just accept the system and try to post the best questions/answers that you can. Just shake off down votes and move on. You will get used to it. Welcome to our community! I hope that you are enjoying it :) – steelersquirrel Jul 21 '17 at 17:52
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    @steelershark yeah,I am, and Im trying and eventually I'll will get used, I guess. thanks. :) Paulie_D read your comments, thanks.but not the stuff I looking for. you should be a little more nice guy to new people. and appreciate what you do anyways. – Vishwa Jul 21 '17 at 18:46
  • @Vishwa Please don't be discouraged by comments. PaulieD is a nice guy and a valued member of this community. His comments might have been misconstrued by you. With what I know of PaulieD, he is sincerely trying to help. Don't worry. We are pleased to have you in our community :) – steelersquirrel Jul 21 '17 at 18:51
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    @Vishwa it might come off as a surprise, but less than 1 percent of the users of the site get to any decent amount of reputation without getting downvotes. Downvotes are primarily for other users of the site, not you. People express their opinion on a post so others would or wouldn't spend time reading the post, so not all downvotes need to be explained. Plus, everyone has their share of downvotes that appear out of nowhere, and aren't accompanied by any feedback. You can't please them all, so just stop stressing out. – M.A.R. Jul 21 '17 at 19:00
  • @M.A.R. thanks for the insight. I understand. – Vishwa Jul 22 '17 at 8:54
  • @steelershark I see what you mean, thanks. Looking forward to see all the good here – Vishwa Jul 22 '17 at 8:55

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