[dislikedtom2]

Often I think it means that you asked a painful question. Don't think that downvotes are always bad, they merely just tell what is popular, just like in reddit.

[benj111]

But this isn't Reddit. If I wanted a popularity contest I'd be on Reddit, or Twitter or Facebook.

I want intelligent questions and answers and a basic respect for learning and knowledge.

To me it just shouldn't be acceptable to downvote a (non rhetorical) question.