2

Somebody out there in ELU land likes me. Which is really nice but this is getting a bit over-the-top. I'm getting a flood of up-votes in rapid succession, one after another. Take a look at my reputation chart and you'll see what I mean.

This is day two. I could just keep quiet and bask in the glory, but... I feel I don't deserve (all) these upvotes.

I'd like to point out, I have no idea who this wonderful and obviously a person with great taste, is. [insert large smile] And I do not wish to know either.

If dear user you are reading this, please, curb your enthusiasm. I am not used to receiving so much attention. I really appreciate the upvotes, but I'd prefer if you calmed down a little.

Thank you.

EDIT: Happening again. Tis the third time now. Sigh all those upvotes will be reversed tomorrow, and good thing too.

Dear "secret upvoter" thank you, it's very kind of you but please be aware that serial upvoting and downvoting on Stack Exchange sites will be reversed within 24 hours.

I shall now bask in my brief, briefest momentum of glory. Feels good! :)

EDIT TWO (22 February 2014)

My happy serial upvoter is at it again. Seems pretty daft behaviour if you ask me. Is it possible to know if the user is always the same? I don't want to know who he or she is, but whether it is a repeating offender. Obviously someone who does not frequent meta, me thinks. One last thing, does this person risk getting a suspension because they are abusing voting privileges?

EDIT THREE (14 April 2014)

To serial upvoter #5 or #6
Please, stop it.

18
  • 1
    This stuff happens from time to time. If it triggers the serial-voting threshold, the up- (or sometimes down-) votes will be removed. Really, you can't fight it if someone wants to up-vote you for out-of-context reasons.
    – Robusto
    Commented Sep 15, 2013 at 14:10
  • 1
    Thank you @Robusto, those succession of upvotes were really quite a shock, a pleasant one, but also, weirdly, unsatisfying. Because my impression is they're being "nice" and ... well. Thanks, anyway for replying.
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Sep 15, 2013 at 14:18
  • 6
    Yes, it points at one of the many problems with the StackExchange system. My bigger gripe, and one of the biggest reasons I stopped participating, is that facile, pop-culture questions and answers get a lot more traction than serious, thoughtful ones do.
    – Robusto
    Commented Sep 15, 2013 at 14:23
  • 1
    Oh yes, that is true. Although I admit I have a soft spot for single-word-requests, but the answers where I have had to research and slog hard are the ones which I have benefitted the most from, as well as reading some brilliantly written explanations.
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Sep 15, 2013 at 14:33
  • 4
    I think what often happens is someone sees an answer they really liked and then looks at other answers given by the same person. If they look at a few dozen and upvote 5 or 6 they found particularly helpful. It's totally normal.
    – dcaswell
    Commented Sep 15, 2013 at 17:27
  • @user814064 yes, I've done that myself, but I take longer than one minute to read the question and all of the posts :)
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Sep 15, 2013 at 17:52
  • 1
    I didn't know it happened in one minute, when I looked it just said they happened in the same hour. I think you do a great helping people out, and whatever the reason you shouldn't worry about it.
    – dcaswell
    Commented Sep 15, 2013 at 20:25
  • Just dropping a note here in case other mods drop in... I've left a link to this in TL for the CMs.
    – waiwai933
    Commented Sep 16, 2013 at 4:59
  • 1
    Maybe somebody just fell in love with your charming profile picture and engaging prose style? (Not me, by the way. I only like polar bears.)
    – Pitarou
    Commented Feb 17, 2014 at 0:01
  • Hello!? I'm not playing false modesty here or whatever. I'd really like to know if this user risks getting a suspension (if it's the same one). This is the third time in less than a month. Has this happened before to others?
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Feb 22, 2014 at 22:13
  • You could always give away the upvotes as bonuses to questions.
    – Oldcat
    Commented Feb 27, 2014 at 17:53
  • @Oldcat I might, I have offered bounties on questions that were not my own, but these upvotes get reversed, so I'm not gaining any unfair rep points.
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Feb 27, 2014 at 19:52
  • Why bother worrying about it? Notice how they're not all within a short period of time, a couple here a couple there? I wouldn't be surprised if you just get lots of upvotes by different people. Anyway....why worry?
    – Mitch
    Commented Apr 14, 2014 at 21:39
  • 1
    Latest case has been dealt with--in the future, if it happens again, it may be better to make a new post on meta to make sure we see it (mods get pinged for all new questions).
    – waiwai933
    Commented Apr 16, 2014 at 4:04
  • 1
    @Mari-LouA All I can say is, while MrHen is right in that only mods can do anything about this, for us to do anything about it, you do need to get our attention (if the system catches it, it'll reverse them, but if it doesn't, obviously it can't alert us). Both meta and chat are acceptable ways to get through to us, but chat messages are more easily forgotten and dismissed than meta posts. The meta post also doesn't need to be anything more than "there are voting irregularities on my account; can a mod look into them?"—that's enough for us to go hunting down things.
    – waiwai933
    Commented Apr 16, 2014 at 4:16

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
5

Perhaps I'm missing something, but the voting seems pretty normal to me. You've answered quite a few questions lately and the voters seem to appreciate them. You are getting a vote or two on each of your recent answers, with the exception of your suggestion of the word "ripples", which has gotten 23 upvotes and was the accepted answer to the question.

You might also be noticing that old answers are getting trickle of upvotes. It's entirely possible that this is a ripple-effect.1 When lots of people read a fine answer, they naturally look at other answers you might have written. It's possible that people proceeded to upvote some of your earlier gems. Note that the question recently showed up network-wide as a "Hot Question". Often this brings in people who haven't followed the site regularly.

There is an automated process that reverts targeted votes, so there's rarely a reason to worry about the situation.

I know this doesn't seem entirely fair, but remember that most upvotes represent sincere appreciation of your work. I get a measure of satisfaction when I look at my Stack Overflow reputation because, even though I rarely post on the site these days, there is a constant drip of upvotes on my aged answers. It appears that your contributions on this site are educational for a number of people over time.

  1. Yes, I did answer this question just so I could make that pun.
2
  • But you see yesterday it was nine upvotes in the space of four minutes! That's a lot, and suggests the voter (because it has to be one person) just glanced through the answers and voted. Although initially I was flattered, I realized those upvotes were "empty" and ultimately, undeserving. My question on meta is really directed to the kind person, and to ask him or her to ease up a little. Upvote by all means, but only if the answers have been helpful and informative. I suppose you could call the upvotes an example of the ripple effect (groan) :)
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Sep 16, 2013 at 11:26
  • 1
    This crops up once in awhile and there precious little to be done about it. I suppose you could take solace in knowing if the user runs afoul of the automated vote fraud detection system their votes will be invalidated. ;)
    – Jon Ericson
    Commented Sep 16, 2013 at 18:30
0

At this point, its completely possible you have attracted a troll by posting about it so much on Meta. Trolls are like Chinese-finger-traps: The more you stress out, the more they latch on. Relax and ignore the issue and the problem will mostly likely sort itself out.

If you really, really cannot ignore it, I would nab a moderator in chat and voice your concerns in a less public manner. They are going to be the only ones capable of adding new information to the subject. I'm not sure what you hope to gain by continually editing this question.

EDIT: As per waiwai933's comments, the mods would actually prefer that you post new Meta posts when you have future concerns:

Latest case has been dealt with--in the future, if it happens again, it may be better to make a new post on meta to make sure we see it (mods get pinged for all new questions).

All I can say is, while MrHen is right in that only mods can do anything about this, for us to do anything about it, you do need to get our attention (if the system catches it, it'll reverse them, but if it doesn't, obviously it can't alert us). Both meta and chat are acceptable ways to get through to us, but chat messages are more easily forgotten and dismissed than meta posts. The meta post also doesn't need to be anything more than "there are voting irregularities on my account; can a mod look into them?" -- that's enough for us to go hunting down things.

2
  • I had immediately posted a comment, triggered by anger and pride mostly, which just as quickly I deleted. I don't know if you read it. But for the next time, I would ask you to be a bit more generous in your answer, and consider the fact that perhaps I had waited for a couple of weeks before, yet again editing this meta post. If it is a troll, as you suggest, then that person should be identified to the mods.
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Apr 16, 2014 at 4:15
  • No, I did not read it; you must have deleted it before I had a chance to see it. I'm not sure what you mean by "generous"; how am I being ungenerous? My point was simply that trolls like to look for people who care strongly about something that is easy for them to mess with. If there is a troll, the only people who could identify it would be the mods. The easiest way to resolve the issue is to (a) ignore it publically and (b) contact the mods if/when you have concerns.
    – MrHen
    Commented Apr 16, 2014 at 14:32

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