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I think that the main reason for a downvote is to convey that a post is not up to the mark, or does not show proper effort on behalf of the person who posted it. In other words, a downvoted post has to be improved.

[Note that I'm not saying this out of any dislike for downvotes, but as a means to improve (in my opinion, you are free to object) the way the users can work.]

Now, I just thought that it would be nice to include a suggestion box (or one similar to the "reason for edit" box) where users can, retaining their anonymity, suggest with a limited number of characters, any improvement that the user who answered can make to improve the overall post, while downvoting.

It need not even be mandatory but can help users who keep getting downvotes without actually realizing why, and also fail to improve.

Once again, please note that this is not because I have been downvoted without reason. For, instance, one of my answers about Bernoulli's theorem was downvoted, and it was plain awful (the answer, not the downvotes), fully deserving of the downvotes. It was a poorly constructed and fundamentally wrong answer (thinking back about it), that can become an example of how answers must not be.

But I have also had an answer (which I admit was not great, but I cannot see how to improve it) which was downvoted (This is not a rant, please). The answer did not deserve an upvote, I can say that, and downvotes hardly change reputation, but I wished a feedback (just a phrase, like," lacks clarity") would have been of great help in improving myself.

But I just thought If users get feedback on why their answers were downvoted, won't it be better for the users of the site?

(I don't really think you need to say why you upvoted an answer, so that feels a bit rudimentary to add)

These are just my opinions. I would like to know if it is worth.

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    $\begingroup$ 1. Feature requests that would require changes to the SE software should generally go to Meta Stack Exchange instead of local metas, since we can't do anything locally here to implement them. 2. Are you proposing "comments, but anonymous", or is there any other way in which this would be distinguished from comments? If not, I'd suggest to consider the reasons comments are not anonymous... $\endgroup$
    – ACuriousMind Mod
    Commented Apr 10, 2020 at 15:30
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    $\begingroup$ No, not anonymous comments. Just a feedback system, a one time-one way, from the person who downvoted to the person who posted. Not that it is absolutely necessary. $\endgroup$
    – Elendil
    Commented Apr 10, 2020 at 16:15
  • $\begingroup$ No replies to the feedback, to avoid rifts and a long chain of comments explaining why it was downvoted $\endgroup$
    – Elendil
    Commented Apr 10, 2020 at 16:35
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    $\begingroup$ I add non-anonymous comments as I see a need. That is what comments are for after all. $\endgroup$
    – Jon Custer
    Commented Apr 10, 2020 at 17:49
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    $\begingroup$ @JonCuster, Sir, I respect your opinion. But the problem that I see is if a person must see downvotes as an opportunity to improve, isn't it more logical to say where he/she lags? Merely downvoting (in my opinion), is like saying -there is some problem with your answer, but I won't say what $\endgroup$
    – Elendil
    Commented Apr 10, 2020 at 18:38
  • $\begingroup$ I did not mean a comment at all, just a rating or a phrase. I'm not demanding it, but just visualizing it- When you downvote a popup opens where you can enter why you downvoted (say, lack of clarity/conceptual knowledge) in a few words and just that. $\endgroup$
    – Elendil
    Commented Apr 10, 2020 at 18:41
  • $\begingroup$ That may help some users understand the problem with their content, saving the site from long heated discussions in comments. $\endgroup$
    – Elendil
    Commented Apr 10, 2020 at 18:43
  • $\begingroup$ I guess your stance then is that a downvote without a comment is worse than no vote at all? I would think requiring some sort of commenting would deter use of down votes $\endgroup$
    – BioPhysicist
    Commented Apr 10, 2020 at 22:23
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    $\begingroup$ The concept of anonymous comments has been discussed many times on MSE over the last decade, eg Allow users to leave an anonymous comment when voting & the numerous questions it links to. Some of those also discuss having a clickable list of pre-written comments (similar to flags & close voting reasons). As you can see, these ideas have some support, especially among newer members, but the majority of the community thinks it's a bad idea. $\endgroup$
    – PM 2Ring
    Commented Apr 10, 2020 at 23:34
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    $\begingroup$ One point that often comes up in these discussions is that the primary purpose of votes is to indicate the usefulness of a post to other readers, not just the author. It's generally agreed that constructive comments can often be very helpful to the author of a downvoted post. OTOH, some authors get defensive when their post is criticized, especially if the post is also downvoted, and it's not uncommon for such comment threads to turn ugly, requiring mod intervention. I don't think anonymous comments would improve that situation. $\endgroup$
    – PM 2Ring
    Commented Apr 10, 2020 at 23:46
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    $\begingroup$ @Krishna probably the other way around: the more comments the greater the amount of debate fodder. If you think attributed comments lead to arguments, wait until you have unattributed ones. The system on balance works well as is, and still serves those interested in improving the contributions. $\endgroup$
    – ZeroTheHero
    Commented Apr 11, 2020 at 4:49
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    $\begingroup$ @AaronStevens I beg to differ. Does the edit Summary deter the use of edits? (it may, if it does, I'm sorry, I comply) $\endgroup$
    – Elendil
    Commented Apr 11, 2020 at 6:04
  • $\begingroup$ @ZeroTheHero I think that my stance has been misunderstood to a large extent. My focus is not a bit on anonymous comments (I don't think it is necessary), but rather on non-replyable feedback. A no-replies-feedback would help serious users who want to correct themselves, without creating unnecessary wastage of time shouting against those who don't want to do so. $\endgroup$
    – Elendil
    Commented Apr 11, 2020 at 6:10
  • $\begingroup$ @PM2Ring I'm suggesting anonymous feedback only because votes are anonymous. My main focus is on no-replies, as opposed to "anonymous". I feel that comments being replied causes rifts, even though the comments are constructive $\endgroup$
    – Elendil
    Commented Apr 11, 2020 at 6:15
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    $\begingroup$ BTW, downvotes on meta sites work a little differently: they don't necessarily mean that the post is bad, they're also used to indicate disagreement. I don't think that your question needs to be closed, OTOH it's unlikely to get much further action. $\endgroup$
    – PM 2Ring
    Commented Apr 11, 2020 at 7:29

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Just to summarize points being made in the comments:

PM2Ring makes the point that down votes are not just for the OP.

The primary purpose of votes is to indicate the usefulness of a post to other readers, not just the author.

PM2Ring and ZeroTheHero make the point that giving anonymous vote reasons might actually make users more upset, not less.

PM2Ring

It's generally agreed that constructive comments can often be very helpful to the author of a downvoted post. OTOH, some authors get defensive when their post is criticized, especially if the post is also downvoted, and it's not uncommon for such comment threads to turn ugly, requiring mod intervention. I don't think anonymous comments would improve that situation.

ZeroTheHero

the more comments the greater the amount of debate fodder. If you think attributed comments lead to arguments, wait until you have unattributed ones. The system on balance works well as is, and still serves those interested in improving the contributions.

My own views: The voting process (up or down) is a quick process that is used to indicate the usefulness, quality, clarity, correctness, etc. of a post. So, they are useful to more than just the poster, and on the individual post level matter more than the reputation gained/lost from them, as users can get/lose reputation from other places. Therefore, I believe adding an additional step of somehow indicating why the down vote was cast could deter users from giving down votes, which is something that might already a problem.

Additionally, sometimes for questions that are obviously bad and will be closed, a down vote and a vote to close is sufficient, as the close banner will tell the user how to improve their question.

I agree that down votes without reason isn't always helpful to the OP, but I think adding an additional step of supplying a reason isn't helpful overall.

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    $\begingroup$ Just a request, can you also include @PM2Ring's link. The posts there seem to have good arguments. Thanks! $\endgroup$
    – Elendil
    Commented Apr 12, 2020 at 3:46

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