> don't downvote things you disagree with, only things which detract from the conversation
True, we shouldn't downvote something just because we disagree with it, but it's more difficult to define what's detracting from the conversation.
Some may disagree with a comment, but since they "can't" just downvote because of that, they deem it "detracting" and maybe even say so. I think we should only downvote comments that are clearly inappropriate, not those that are somewhat off-topic. Everyone has their way of trying to contribute to conversations, and the conversations don't have to fall strictly under whatever topic is in the headline.
True, we shouldn't downvote something just because we disagree with it, but it's more difficult to define what's detracting from the conversation.
Some may disagree with a comment, but since they "can't" just downvote because of that, they deem it "detracting" and maybe even say so. I think we should only downvote comments that are clearly inappropriate, not those that are somewhat off-topic. Everyone has their way of trying to contribute to conversations, and the conversations don't have to fall strictly under whatever topic is in the headline.