[dieterrams]

> But if I up vote, that doesn't let the person know I up voted it. Aren't we supposed to let people know that I care?

I can appreciate where you're coming from, but it's a tad egocentric: 99% of the time, knowing the username of someone who upvoted you just won't matter that much, and would just be a distraction. Suppose a comment with 60 upvotes also got 60 replies saying nothing but "I like" or some variation. That page is now flooded with what is effectively spam, making it harder for people who are trying to contribute to and/or read the discussion.

If you want to stand out, just telling someone that you liked what they wrote isn't going to do that. You've got to write something worthy of notice.