6

I got downvote and deduction of reputation for other user's question, not mine two times in a row recently. Why does it happen?

Beside, I'm annoyed to have been getting down votes and close votes which seem to be made by a specific user(s) - I think I know who he is. It's clearly intentional and habitual deed, because I keep receiving either one (sometimes two) down vote(s) or close vote(s) to most of my posts immediate after posting them. It's a horrendously mean and disgustingly cowardly behavior. Isn't there any way to let the malicious user stop or punish such a mean action?

Addenduum:

To comply with the behest of Simchona and Shog 6, I 'm attaching the copy & paste of my reputation record regarding my top question:

50

yesterday

+25

22:54

5 events

What does purchasers of a new tablet won’t “end up with a doorstop” mean?

+10

04:53

2 events

Is ‘smart alec (aleck)’ a gender-neutral noun?

+5

00:37

upvote

What is the exact meaning of “blood-dimmed (tragedy),” and how does it pass current among Anglophones?

+5

00:33

upvote

What are the key difference among a liberal, liberalist and libertarian?

+5

00:21

upvote

What does ‘a lunch best forgotten’ mean?

+2

23:33

accept

What does purchasers of a new tablet won’t “end up with a doorstop” mean?

+5/-5

04:54

2 events

Does the phrase “don't even pass the laugh test” pass as an idiomatic expression, or only a set of words?

-2

06:02

downvote

What does “Beyoncé was outed for lip-synching” mean?

22

2 days ago

+10

14:35

upvote

What do you call a disease with an unknown cure?

+5

13:24

upvote

Can a noun (such as “duct tape”) be used as a verb?

+5

00:55

upvote

What does ‘a lunch best forgotten’ mean?

+2

06:02

accept

What does ‘a lunch best forgotten’ mean?

13:40

upvote

Who is “That Guy”?

2

Jun 19

+5/-2

11:16

2 events

What does ‘a lunch best forgotten’ mean?

-1

12:12

downvoted

Expression for a choice which isn't really one (I didn't place this question)

5

Jun 18

5

Jun 17

7
  • 3
    It depends on if there really is malicious action--we can check.
    – user10893
    Commented Jun 20, 2013 at 22:06
  • 3
    出る杭は打たれる。If you rise to prominence here, and you have, there are some who will wish to strike you down. Chalk it up to jealousy and sheer mean-spiritedness.
    – Robusto
    Commented Jun 21, 2013 at 1:46
  • 1
    Robusto-san. Truth well told! though I don't think I'm there.
    – Yoichi Oishi
    Commented Jun 21, 2013 at 9:29
  • 16
    You are on the first page of users ranked by all-time score. That is surely an achievement for (1) someone whose native tongue is not English and (2) someone whose reputation score is derived almost entirely from asking questions. In fact, the latter point almost passes belief. If you fret that someone has churlishly downvoted you here and there, take heart at the approbation almost everyone else has shown you.
    – Robusto
    Commented Jun 22, 2013 at 0:17
  • 2
    Let me point out further that your reputation score puts you well into the 99th percentile on EL&U—the top 0.12% of all users, in fact. Bravo!
    – Robusto
    Commented Jun 22, 2013 at 10:14
  • 1
    If it's any consolation, I cited you as an ELU 'star' in an answer on Meta.ELL.
    – StoneyB on hiatus
    Commented Jun 23, 2013 at 20:31
  • On some stackexchange sites, you can get lots of "reputation" just for being the first to repeat some trivia that can be found in reference materials or easily googled. Nobody complains how easy it is to get +10 points; they only gripe about the -2's.
    – Kaz
    Commented Jun 30, 2013 at 23:19

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
24

It appears there is someone who serially down-votes your questions. It certainly looks like that in your reputation history. There is a mechanism that eliminates fraudulent votes, but it is secret, and I have no idea whether it is supposed to pick up bad behaviour like this; it seems like it doesn't, so far.

The problem is that each man's vote is his own; if someone dislikes all my posts, he may be allowed to vote them all down. If so, there is nothing that can be done.

However, you should look at it this way. You are one of our favourite users. Everybody likes your questions—that is, of the 10,000 users on EL&U, 9,999 like your questions, and there is only one that votes you down. It's annoying, but it's just a drop in the sea. The loss of reputation is also small compared to your regular gains. So it's probably best to accept that sometimes there is injustice that cannot be rectified but must be borne; and that a single user cannot change the way everyone here feels about you, so perhaps he is not worth contemplating. Eventually, it will stop. You should also know that I have heard several other top users complain about a user's serially down-voting all their questions, so you are not alone in this.

4
  • 1
    On the rep list added to the question, there's only 2 downvotes (the -5 is an un-upvote, -1 is the user's downvote), so no, that's not enough to trigger the serial-downvote mechanism
    – Izkata
    Commented Jun 23, 2013 at 6:48
  • @Izkata: Just look at his real reputation list (on his account), and you'll see a string of down-votes starting on June 8.
    – Cerberus - Reinstate Monica
    Commented Jun 23, 2013 at 13:21
  • Hmmm some reputation anarchists who believe that reputation should be equally distributed?
    – Cjxcz Odjcayrwl
    Commented Jun 25, 2013 at 19:12
  • @ukaszLech: I must refer to the answer below...
    – Cerberus - Reinstate Monica
    Commented Jun 25, 2013 at 20:40
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I think Cerberus's answer is excellent. If you concentrate your attention on your overall reputation, it is very positive: you are appreciated for your contributions here. For example, the overall opinion of your last thirty questions is quite good. For every one downvote you are getting four upvotes.

I can also say the evidence is against a stalker/serial downvoter. There is a string of -1s on your ten most recent questions (except the ninth, which got -3). I suppose this looks like serial downvoting. But it is cooincidence. I downvoted the fifth, seventh, and ninth questions. Consequently I know the string of -1s is not the work of a single voter. In my case, I am voting my view of each question, not of you personally. Unless someone admits to stalking, or a real pattern of serial downvoting is found, I assume the other voters did the same.

Widening the inquiry to your thirty most recent questions (the first page of questions on your profile page), there is no pattern of serial downvoting. 7 got 0 downvotes, 16 got -1, 4 got -2, and 3 got -3 or more.

3
  • 7
    I purged this comment chain because it was inappropriate. If anyone wants to discuss MετάEd's voting habits with him, they may do so in chat. If they think he's abusing the system, they may flag an example to bring it to our attention. For the record, I feel MετάEd is a responsible high-rep user who votes his conscience and speaks his mind. I have a lot of respect for that, and I would not punish him for it.
    – Kit Z. Fox Mod
    Commented Jun 21, 2013 at 13:54
  • 2
    KitFox. I said what I should say, and I brought an obvious problem on the table. Somebody has to point it out. That's all, and my reputaion is at least at par with you and him, if you regard it's a qualification for responsible high-rep user. By the way I casted only 2 or 3 of down votes and no close vote in 2hand harlf years. I would stop here.
    – Yoichi Oishi
    Commented Jun 21, 2013 at 21:33
  • 3
    @Yoichi, I like your questions and I often have upvoted them, but I think that the democratic process, upon which this site is founded, is not reducible to measuring rep-points. In fact MetaEd is a valuable member in reference to his activity globally considered, which is, the activity, greatly remarkable and contributed, togheter your's, to make EL&U one of the best resources on Internet.
    – user19148
    Commented Jun 21, 2013 at 21:49
5

Having used the mod tools and spoken with SE employees, there is currently no suspicious activity that we can detect. There are ways for us to investigate, and if malicious activity is detected then the abusive user can be suspended and the offending votes removed.

11
  • I wish and hope that is true, whilst I see so many simailar questions posted on this site by non-native English speaking users. I still don't have answer on the first question - why I got two successive down votes on the question I never posted.
    – Yoichi Oishi
    Commented Jun 21, 2013 at 23:43
  • @YoichiOishi What do you mean, "never posted"? Did you write it and then delete it?
    – user10893
    Commented Jun 21, 2013 at 23:51
  • @simchona.I got an unreasonable down-vote twice in a row on the question, “Expression for a choice which isn't really one” posted by the handle name, Thomas, not mine. The second down-vote was given on June 19. The first down-vote was on its previous day, but I can’t prove the date of the first one because reputaion record doesn’t show the details of votes of 4 days ago and backward.
    – Yoichi Oishi
    Commented Jun 22, 2013 at 0:42
  • @yoichi it does show the details, you just have to expand it. It's not showing up in your rep tab for me. Can you post a screenshot in the original post?
    – user10893
    Commented Jun 22, 2013 at 0:58
  • 1
    @YoichiOishi Are you saying that this question, posted by another user, is somehow affecting your reputation? (Apologies if I misunderstood but that's what it sounds like you're saying to me?)
    – WendiKidd
    Commented Jun 22, 2013 at 1:20
  • @simchona. I don't know how to handle 'screenshot'. I'm 80 years oldman too old to learn it. Here's copy and paste of reputation record in question:
    – Yoichi Oishi
    Commented Jun 22, 2013 at 2:11
  • Cont. As copy & paste of my Rep. Record page doesn’t work、I show you the part in question by retyping it. July 19 ＋5 /－2 11:16 2 events ‘What does a lunch ... (My question) －1 12:12 down-voted: “Expression for a choice which isn’t really one ... (not my question) (Question) What would be a nice short expression to describe - - -(text follows) Asked Sep. 7 ’12 at 6:44 (by ) Thomas.
    – Yoichi Oishi
    Commented Jun 22, 2013 at 2:32
  • @Yoichi: we're all very confused. Please go here: english.stackexchange.com/users/3119/… and find the bit that confuses you, and then take a screenshot of the entire page and then post that in your question here with the bits that concern you circled in red. Thank you.
    – Shog9
    Commented Jun 22, 2013 at 2:48
  • Shog9. I included the copy and paste of the part in question.
    – Yoichi Oishi
    Commented Jun 22, 2013 at 4:20
  • 4
    @yoichi that -1 is because you yourself downvoted the post. You lose a point for voting down answers, but not questions.
    – user10893
    Commented Jun 22, 2013 at 4:22
  • Is that so? It's seems to be my own goal. Thanks for your clarification.
    – Yoichi Oishi
    Commented Jun 22, 2013 at 4:39

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