[likeafox]

> Reddit moderators who run subreddits are given the choice to allow the function. When it’s enabled, it’s used as a filter to sort out divisive posts from the rest but also leads to problems like abuse based on opinions and introducing a feeling of negativity into the communities.

Just want to clarify this: reddit inc. doesn't really offer communities a way to "disable" downvoting. The subreddits referenced at the link in this article are using the custom CSS to hide the downvote button. Notably this does not impact users who are browsing 1) via the mobile app, a substantial to majority percentage of traffic based on the community in question 2) with custom CSS disabled [which can be done via a global reddit setting or via popular extensions like RES 3) via the reddit desktop redesign ['r3']. In the desktop redesign, some communities try to continue hiding downvotes by using the customization tools to set the button to a transparent png - but this is blatantly ineffective - the downvote hitbox remains accessible and feedback is offered to the user on a successful click when they see the score change.

I have some experience with this, having helped researcher Nate Matias test the impact of downvote behavior in a community I'm involved with. You can see the summary of the resulting paper Do Downvote Buttons Cause Unruly Online Behavior? here https://citizensandtech.org/2018/01/do-downvote-buttons-caus...