@Someone - giving me negative ratings doesn't help anyone understand why you disagree with my statements. If I am engaging in inappropriate behavior, report me to the mods or PM me. If you disagree with me, tell me why in the thread.
The repeated use of negative feedback isn't productive or meaningful.
@janetdoe I disagree with virtually all your statements in this thread, but since several people seem to agree with this quoted post, I'll explain.
First, please don't take it personally. I don't dislike *you* - I disagree with what you wrote in this particular thread, there's a big difference. I was not "giving you negative ratings" I was indicating my disagreement with your statements. As you repeated your statements, I repeated my dissent.
The short answer to your question is that in this specific case, I was browsing the forum on my phone and could not type out a lengthy response, so I clicked dislike. Had this been another forum I might have clicked thumbs down, minus, or red. The ability to vote in either the affirmative or negative for the content of a post is common on internet forums.
I wanted to quickly and briefly express my disagreement with your wrong-headed armchair lawyering (which I'll address in my next post). "Dislike" is entirely appropriate for posts that border on trolling.
Additionally, I have observed what appears to be a vocal minority on this forum who essentially think that the dislike button is bad and should not be used.
To them I say: not every post is deserving of a lengthy, well-reasoned response, and not every member should be required to make a lengthy well-reasoned response.
Pressuring members not to use the dislike button stifles dissent, inhibits open discussion, and reduces overall participation in the forum.
In the general case, perhaps a member is not able to or otherwise does not feel up to making a response to a given post but wants to express agreement or disagreement with the content of a post. Should they not be able, even *encouraged* to participate in the discussion by clicking "like" or "dislike" - essentially recording their opinion in the form of a vote? Another member who happens upon a disliked post may be motivated by the vote to express their opinion in response - in support or defense of the content of the post at issue.
Perhaps my simple indication of disagreement with your posts has or could have inspired someone else to post a longer response before I was able to.
If people take issue with the specific term "dislike" on the button, that's a matter for a separate discussion. I feel strongly that the ability to vote in either the affirmative or negative is valuable and important, and should be maintained.
Many (myself included) choose to spend time on this forum because the vitriol common to other forums is discouraged. Polite dissent is a valuable aspect of any intellectual discussion and should not be confused with malevolence.