For me, it’s equivalent to a statement that “I would like to see more of something like this”. That sometimes means upvoting things that I don’t agree with, yet very often I’ll pass over things that I do (such as “^This” - I agree, but don’t want to see more of it:-). Often I’ll upvote nearly every comment in a thread, to signal hopes for increased participation. To me it’s a signal for health and vibrancy of a community to see such.

But other people I guess use it as an “I agree” or “like” button? If that’s you, do you use it sparingly? What’s the rationale there - that when it is delivered, it means more? But with Lemmy so small, why not deliver it more often to help it grow? I mean you feel free to do you, I’m just curious. Maybe you feel it could encourage “karma farming”?

I’d even like to ask lurkers what they think, although I suppose that literally by definition I cannot:-). Then again, I recently became a lurker myself by watching the embedded Loops videos at https://tesseract.dubvee.org/c/loops@midwest.social, and I really miss being able to comment or vote on videos to help guide others to which ones I feel are most/least worthwhile to watch. It feels like a finger is missing - I reach out to do my normal activity and it’s gone.:-) So perhaps if someone was recently a lurker, what are your thoughts too?

  • Admiral Patrick@dubvee.orgM
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    4 months ago

    I’m like a drunken sailor with my upvotes.

    • “Mark as read” on a reply
    • Legitimately agree / like the response
    • Made me laugh
    • Angry upvote
    • Pity (when a post/comment has merit and doesn’t deserve the downvotes it’s receiving)
    • A comment positively contributes to a discussion
    • Insightful comment
  • Dr. Wesker@lemmy.sdf.org
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    4 months ago

    I upvote if something is funny, creative, interesting, or if a poster is passionate about what they’re posting and I want to send them some silent encouragement.

    I virtually never downvote, because I think it’s a lame function that armchair losers primarily employ to discourage others.

    • Baggins@beehaw.org
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      4 months ago

      That’s why I use Beehaw. And there’s (usually) a better class of clientele.