[jodrellblank]

Perhaps your view is not shared as widely?

It was intended to be a contrast of what downvoting is vs should be.

"That site you try to contribute to is horrible and the problem is the people" - well ouch. Retaliate hurt with hurt. Or comment with downvote.

Do read my original post. My problem is people who don't actually contribute but nitpick on how the questions are worded.

But I do both.

I pick on details until I feel the question is sufficiently clear and scoped that I can answer it, and then I try to answer it. Sometimes it never gets answered so my comments are left as just nitpicks and sometimes it's answered by somebody cleverer or with different experiences before I can understand it and it looks like I nitpicked while someone else answered and I should have answered instead or shut up.

But unless you only want the best people answering you get whoever is about and willing to engage.

And aren't we then back to the open source model - it's shitty but it's free, who are "you" to expect or demand better?