[bmelton]

100% agree. I think the core of our problem is that downvote is used differently everywhere else, and so people have an expectation when they come here that simply isn't true.

Naturally, the other end of that is a problem too, wherein people upvote for all the wrong reasons. I all too often see an comment that is wrong, but perhaps clever, and is upvoted highly. The most interesting aspect, I think, is that if you put a well-reasoned explanation of why the comment is wrong, you'll often see the trend reverse -- the wrong comment will start getting downvotes, and the correction will start getting upvotes. This might SEEM right, on first blush, but it also isn't.

The thing that irks me most though, is perhaps the hero-worship. I think if we were able to hide usernames until after we'd voted, then we'd almost certainly have better results. I cringe every time pg posts a one-liner that adds nothing to the conversation; Not because it isn't perfectly within his right to do so, but because I know it's going to be upvoted to the sky.