what's up with the downvotes?

Hey, I hear ya, and I didn't downvote this post, lol. But here's the thing, you gotta let it go. There's no way you can do anything about this.

  • There are way more lurkers than active participants so if they're the ones who downvote, nothing you can do
  • There is also the reddit vote fuzzing thing which makes it appear like you have fewer votes one minute than you did the previous minute
  • People on the internet will be people on the internet

My motto on this sub is to ignore the voting and look at the content of the reactions I get. The voting would make me feel completely alienated because of the topics that get a lot of votes and the comments that get a lot of votes. Often they're on things I feel no connection with. But I've learned over time that there's space for me here and I carve it out in my own way. I have people I enjoy interacting with and I know what people to avoid. I know when to shut up and when my opinion might be appreciated and I just accept the voting situation.

I hope you can do the same. There's no point pleading to anybody out there, because it's unclear who your audience is. I think there's like maybe 50 active participants at any one time or something and hundreds who lurk or show up occasionally.

/r/TalkTherapy Thread