I've never posted in the community, just found out about the community today. 👀
this post was submitted on 11 Aug 2025
126 points (91.4% liked)
Fuck AI
7445 readers
1314 users here now
"We did it, Patrick! We made a technological breakthrough!"
A place for all those who loathe AI to discuss things, post articles, and ridicule the AI hype. Proud supporter of working people. And proud booer of SXSW 2024.
AI, in this case, refers to LLMs, GPT technology, and anything listed as "AI" meant to increase market valuations.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
i never understood why folks get so anal about downvoting. if I don’t like it, I downvote. it’s my vote. if it’s a “rule” to only downvote people who don’t participate “properly” instead of people you disagree with.. I’m downvoting the rule.
if a community can’t handle the “risk” inherent with people disagreeing with them on the internet then they should realize they are not ready for the internet.
shit... I reply about some stuff and let folks know I’m a leftist and … instant downvotes. hrm. 😂🤷♂️
Downvoting has consequences on visibility for the discussion to others. You simply downvoting for something you disagree with means you only want things you agree with visible to read. I believe downvoting should be reserved for posts that actively subtract from the discussion.
However, following the rule of "treat others how you want to be treated", I have downvoted your post because I disagree with it, and you are communicating thats how you'd like it.
If I'm browsing All and I see something that is promoting a stance that I feel is damaging to society, I downvote it. Damn right! I don't want the idea spreading.
I actually had text in my post I deleted because I thought it obvious addressing this. Homophobic, racist, misogynistic, etc post always gets a downvote from me too.
that’s ok with me. :)
i believe downvoting should be something users can use for whatever reasons they deem necessary. after all, it’s there for that reason. if a community wanted me to “explain” why I downvoted, I can safely assume it’ll either unlock that downvote button when I have replied to the thread, or prompt me before allowing the button to be confirmed.
Thats a disappointing take. In public on a street, you're not prevented from walking up to someone and telling them you think they are ugly and stupid if you feel like it. Your logic is that there should be a law preventing it, and if not, then its absolutely fine to do that thing. I would hope you wouldn't because you understand your actions have consequences on other people and society even if you technically are allowed to do something.
Its the same thing with the "vote" buttons. You have the power to do something, but you are saying you just don't care what the consequences to others are from your actions.
a) internet forums are public but they are not “in public”
b) reductio ad absurdum is peak internet. good work.
If you ever wonder why the internet is worse, its looks like its because you're giving yourself a free pass to be mean. I suppose you can enjoy the world you create for yourself.
what is “mean” about downvoting something I disagree with?
Voting is not supposed to be like/dislike btw. Voting is supposed to indicate the relevance to the topic. In theory this is how the correct content should come to the top and the irrelevant content drops out.
But no one knows that and just votes with emotions instead.
🤷♂️
Voting is whatever the person voting wants it to be. Just because people want it to be one thing doesn’t make it that thing. Some people will vote capriciously, some will vote with great logic. Some will vote emotionally, others will only vote for relevant topics. Vote how you like and stop worrying about a few pixels on a screen. Karma is worth nothing on this site so don’t worry about it unless you want mental health problems.
That’s what’s neat about the internet.
The rules are made up and the points don’t matter.
IIUC, votes are just what Mastodon (or I suppose, more like Pleroma) uses for reactions. I bet there's no reason we can't sidevote each other, with a little API shenanigans! Personally, I would like a vote for "I'm not gonna tell you".
citation required
it’s a priori.
Principal skinner "No, it's the children who are wrong" meme energy here.
If the vast majority of people are using the system "wrong", it's probably not those people's fault.
if the conversation is supposed to be dialectical then “votes” should not be a thing; this is what comments are for.
“votes” are just a way to make one think it’s democracy in a community with some dopamine feedback when you see your post got 3500 upvotes because you posted a meme.
Because it's a net negative on a community. (gen)AI is already controversial, so if a community wants to grow and get visibility, the last they can use is a bunch of bitter users that downvote every new post and don't interact with the community in any other, meaningful way.
Zooming out, the AI stuff is a negative for the wider community. Maybe it shouldn't grow and become visible
Sure, but the community owners can still ban you for trying to actively reduce their visibility.
I'm not saying I'd like that to happen, but it works both ways.
neat. so that must mean they are not ready for the audience.
I grew up with bbs, usenet, forums, fark, yadda yadda. downvotes are there for a reason - and if the community can’t handle it then either turn them off (that’s ok too!) or .. ignore them. it’s not like “karma” is a thing here either.
You're choosing to crush all nuance. Like you are invested in a specific conclusion.
i don’t understand - is there a per-community threshold where a certain low score means it’s not displayed to other users?
What is a thing is visibility. It's not about karma.
It's up to you to ignore them, not the other way around. And their community, their rules: they can ban you for whatever they want.
It works both ways. If you can't handle being banned unfairly, then you're not ready for the internet.
Per flandish, we can all downvote anything we want for whatever reason we want. But we must be aware that our votes are visible, social actions, and we must accept the consequences that come from those actions, which might quite reasonably involve being excluded from further socializing.
are downvotes visible on a user’s profile? or just in log/mod log details?
It's meant for mods/admins only, but there are sites that publicize it for the obsessives that need to know exactly who dared to give them a downvote.
cool! i like more and more how open federated stuff is.
Yes, I like it too. I think it should go further; I think votes should just be like any other reaction, where every user who reacted is readily visible. The information is there for everyone, but most interfaces decline to display it, which creates an uneven environment.
100% agree.
the internet is full of users free to use the options given to them in ways they see fit.