[byrneseyeview]

I don't know. In normal interactions, I get the impression that the reasons for positive responses are a lot more honest than the reasons for negative ones -- e.g. "I already have plans," rather than "You smell like bark. All the time."

It would be helpful to know why people mod us down, but it might just make people bitter.

[zasz]

Well, explaining why you thought a point was wrong is a little different than trying to hide dislike or indifference towards a person. The former isn't personal.

[icey]

The problem with explaining every down mod is that it causes a whole discussion to occur regarding moderation. To me, that seems like a tremendous waste of time.

In a democracy, not everyone is going to see things in the same light. That's just something that we all have to deal with and move on.