[juicy-fruit]

Okay I understand. I see from this thread and a thread from a couple of years ago that some people are using this as a background noise. I tried doing this but it's too sporadic and the talking is distracting for me to focus on programming. It also makes me feel a little anxious for some reason.

I didn't mean to offend anyone's interest, I just wanted someone to maybe show me a side I'm not seeing. I should word my questions with more thought and empathy in the future.

[GeorgeTirebiter]

J-F, I would generally ignore the downvoters. Because you have to 'read the tea leaves' to try to know why somebody downvoted you, and you can only 'make stuff up' as to the potential reason. THAT means there is no objective feedback mechanism to learn how to avoid downvoting; or, in particular, why your specific contribution was downvoted.

In my world, posting a well-reasoned on-target opinion on a website is not isomorphic with a video game, where I need to score XP or some other adolescent incentive.

So, given the lack of specific feedback, I suggest you ignore the downvoters, and do what I do, which is to imagine them as ignorant youngsters who actually think anybody cares what they think. They lack power in their own lives, and so they get the illusion of power over others with their downvote button. We should feel sorry for such creatures.

Perhaps one could try Buddhism? ;-)