You can now help us fighting spam and unwanted content by downvoting comments and board topics.
When should I vote down?
Downvote posts that are spammy, misplaced or sloppy and do not add anything substantial to the discussion.
How do I vote down?
Click the down arrow to the right of each comment / topic. You can undo your votes by clicking the button again.
What happens when I vote down?
Comments and topics that have been downvoted multiple times are collapsed / greyed out.
Downvoting is not something we want you to take lightly! Use it wisely in the spirit to improve the platform.
Comments (124)
okay
@mbelow I think this is a great idea for the future of Audiotool. However, its implementation could possibly stand to be improved.
On a small note, in terms of the aesthetic, I think it'd be beneficial to give every comment a hamburger style menu that provides multiple options:
For instance, (1) delete the comment (if the comment is theirs—this would give a better alternative to the current × that appears), (2) downvote the comment, and (3) flag/report the comment. Ultimately, the last option would create a type of check and balance lest a group of artists, as devious as it may sound, band together to silence another user. The current implementation would make the aforementioned possible. In fact, even the first comment on this board post is a testament to that, @xenom0rph commented "okay", which isn't particularly an offensive comment, yet it was hidden because only three users downvoted it (of course, I'm sure they were only trying to test the feature). This in mind, however, could prove to be a hinderance to users who might just have a bad reputation in general, despite that they might be working to improve.
An important thing to note is that the heart/favourite would stay the same, where veteran users expect it to be and already understand it's functionality. Downvoting should be exclusive to non-constructive, demeaning, and offensive content. The corresponding favouriteCount would remain as it's implemented currently (with negative integers factored in). This proposed approach is simply the minimalist style Audiotool strives for.
Also, it's fairly difficult to tell whether or not the count on board posts refers to downvote or upvote.
In general, I'd advocate for a single icon with an option to downvote, flag and report.
The count would then be easily understood...
Thanks for your feedback, Apollo. I really like the idea of moving the extra options to a hamburger menu!
Have I understand your suggestion correctly that downvote would just decrease the counter, whereas flag/report would ultimately hide/collapse the comment?
Yes, that is what I was going for. Though the flag/report option would first notify admins (perhaps those chosen from the original Next Beta group or admins on the official Facebook group, who have good credibility) who could provide input on and ultimately hide the comment.
No problem, btw! I also noticed that Audiotool.com is attempting to do minor redesigns in terms of both the responsive desktop and mobile sites. If you/the developers are ever available to discuss some of the possibilities, I've put together a few ideas from all the feature requests from the community and my understanding of UX/UI design.
Your input is very much appreciated. We would like to provide the appropriate tooling so that the community can manage itself to an extend. The typical report button does not scale well, because reviewing the reports involves to much manual work.
That's fair, in that case moving toward something similar to what you're looking for would be preferable.
But the possible implications still stand, and there ought to be some checks and balances.
In terms of helping AT become self-sufficient, what would be the chances of letting established, trusted users help with the flagging and reporting of users/copyrighted samples, as in, help moderate it. Give those select users a modicum of control so they can help deal with the smaller issues and let you (the devs) focus on the bigger issues/developments with AT, im thinking it would free up a lot of time for you guys! Im aware there are already a few users in with the Devs but what about branching out more, maybe elect the new 'mods' democratically amongst you (devs) so its only the pragmatic users, like https://www.audiotool.com/user/apollo/ that can help out occasionally :) just chucking ideas out
Some thoughts: I see that this downvoting system is to be used as a way to implement comment flagging by the Audiotool community. However, a downvote isn't necessarily an intention to flag. Suppose someone answers a question about how something in Audiotool works but is wrong. Then users might downvote as a way to say "that's not correct" and not "your comments are spam". So a distinction should be made between voting a flagging.
Quick design note, this is what I meant by "hamburger menu", just a little more minimalist
Slightly off-topic, but I personally hate hamburger menu icons :-P https://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2014/06/how-to-solve-the-hamburger-icon-problem/
does it come with fries
vvv lmao
This is sparking a controversy
Bring back top comments
Also can we please be able to "pin" comments on our wall? It will be a great feature to use
https://www.audiotool.com/board/feature_requests/dislike_vs_flagging
I wanna see who's downvoting the comments aswell it's too anonymous
What about Track downvoting? User downvoting?
lol this is not serious.
this is wild. im just saying why cant we just uplift everyone on here. we are all working hard on the things we like to do. some are better thn other but the idea is to put out good tracks and to enjoy everyone work. this seems bad. im just saying
I see the idea here. I just think a name change would be in order to avoid confusion. The majority of users are very talented when it comes to ignoring the board. As such, I think the name downvote should be changed to something that suggests it's purpose, such as (this is an example) 'vote as inappropriate/spam' You have a big menu to work with so this name shouldn't be a big problem. Also if you aren't going to do that, having a popup the first time someone downvotes, like the mute/delete comment one would be an acceptable alternative. Again I think the main confusion is caused by the name.
and facebook users.
How come when someone sends their own opinion on something and it gets downvoted because people disagree it gets removed? I feel the downvote feature should be removed because the user can deleted the comment for himself already. Also It makes the people who have Advice/criticism gets assumed for spam shouldn't makes me feel I can't express my own opinion.
This is part of the reason why I mentioned that it should be revised... the way it's implemented now allows possible abuse and exploitation that should be accounted for. But, I dunno, the devs want Audiotool to be "self-sufficent", and in order for that to happen this was their approach, which is good. But, it definitely needs revision.
@andremichelle I think they're pointing at the collapsed comment that reads "this comment has been downvoted by multiple users", essentially hiding it. (Removed has bad connotation)
self sufficent 12 years olds, there is no such thing
Downvoting useless/inappropriate comments isn't incompatible with rewarding good tracks or posts.
major glitches with the new next update
Don't blame the youngsters, Scoob
If downvoting went to a vote, it would lose. Id put money on it.
https://soundcloud.com/user-946075020/tony-g-tonys-song
hey i know downvoted comments aren't supposed to be shown but can you let it so people are still able reply to them?
for top comments? or pinned comments
downvoting a classic from 1988, you should be shot. you have no idea about electronic music
top comments are very childish. i swear this downvoting thing is just a bad joke, its the nuke button for drama
https://www.audiotool.com/track/gxwy22cz/
http://www.dictionary.com/browse/elitism?s=t
can you not spam tracks on a thread talking about downvoting
ben is talking about scoob
he is
we were talking in discord about it
AHAHAHAHA I died
I am the electronic music underground elite. I witnessed the birth of electronic music, i grew up with it. I did a acidhouse dance in 1987/8 at the bottom of my street, when i met two older neighbours who just came back from a acid house rave in london. Me & my mates sat on our bmx's whilst they told us about how great acid house was, so i did a lil dance & made everybody laugh. I was born to be underground.
Exactly.
That strip made my day
Should've used the iconic Audiocool
Hehehe
There's been more activity on my news feed in the past week than the past month. Great job with all the drama lol
Just because you ignore it doesn't mean it's not there.
Maybe there could be an easy way to ignore a particular topic if you don't like where it's going
Things like these can't be completely eradicated, but we can absolutely do our best given the new features to cut down on it
While that's definitely true, at least, given those contributing, this "drama" can be used as a tool for proving the necessity for downvoting, flagging, reporting... This topic is a testament to itself, because it can help the implementation be innovated toward a real need.
These guys are just testing the waters, I think, and that's actually helpful from a developmental standpoint.
The real need, however, is for administration, all great social communities have it, Audiotool has just been behind in that sense.
I'm just glad to see we're making moves in the right direction.
I dare you to downvote this
lol keep doing it
I think that https://www.audiotool.com/user/scruffi/ just wanted to get attention.
I still think that acknowledging the drama is important for the community though.
hi i am new at this and i am trying new apps so if you guys can just follow me i will be on here a lot so yea follow me
Hi there!
Scoop, is it you?
Ya mean Scoob
@mbelow @andremichelle Thanks for adding this awesome feature!
I'm sure all of this has been said but: Reporting the comment should be a separate function from down-voting imo, I don't really like the idea of effective censorship which could possibly arise from this feature when certain people/communities/ideas come into contact. Reporting should be reserved for situations of great gravity, while down-voting could be a bit more lighthearted in nature. I don't mind keeping everything prim and proper but AT's community could be dulled by this I think. Also could breed a sense of hostility among the sites less mature users (you down-voted my comment? i'll just down-vote yours then), which would kind of defeat the point of the down-vote system. Just talking here, not sure how much of this would actually happen.
The stalkers love it
Says it all basically
ESP has a downvoting virus on his account now
You can‘t report comments, only tracks, samples and users.
well as of now yeah, but i meant that a function to remove the comment should be seperate from downvoting
add a function to do that *
ok got you ... if you click the text you can still read the comment and you need several downvotes to let this happen. I don't see the danger of effective censorship
What if someone's account gets banned/deleted just because they were defending themselves on Audiotool from people who like instigating arguments?
ah i didnt know that snd, im less opposed now then.
vvv wut
omfg
vvv good point, but having the community as a whole determine that in ways discourages people from having their own opinions about what's being said
and by "people" i mean the individual
also i think people should be able to reply to downvoted comments if they want to, rather than forcing the inability to on everyone, i think it just makes the system more complicated than it needs to be
but idk, i guess any non-governmental organization can decide to change/not change basically whatever they want with what they provide, and i understand that drama that's not dealt with can be very unattractive to newcomers, which can be very bad for business/reputation
@mrexclusives ye sorry that was kinda a strawman
This is what I dislike about the downvote feature, since you asked.
People are almost never gonna use it like this, it's gonna be used mostly as a way to say "I don't like what you're saying" like it is on other platforms with this feature (youtube, reddit, etc)
I don't like the idea of people mass downvoting comments because they don't like the person or what they're saying, as I expressed on the track where I ranted about it.
lol "user downvoting"
Its a howler of a function & he knows it. I'm always deleted off here
if we want the downvote and upvote buttons to do what they're intended to do, i don't think, for example, that one downvote and one upvote on a comment should cancel eachother out to zero. instead there should be a 1 by the upvote button and a 1 by the downvote button so that the information the numbers show can be more telling of how many people downvoted, even if the majority happened to upvote instead, or visa versa
I've been thinking this too, great point, showing upvotes and downvotes at the same time is the best workaround atm
downvotes are cool
I don't care about this post. The fact it was posted in the first place, that's what bothers me
also if, beside the upvote button, there was a downvote "button" like i mentioned, i think that hovering over the downvote button should tell who downvoted, just like hovering over the upvote button tells who upvoted
i know there could be some social problems in implementing what i mentioned in my most recent comment, so idk
cuz one reason i can think of on why people probs wouldn't want others seeing that they downvoted a comment could be that the majority could end up "witchhunting" them
but now that i think of it, it could work the other way, cuz being able to see nicknames of the people that upvoted a comment that the majority may not like could also make the majority end up "witchhunting" the minority
of course, this problem would already be solved if everyone on the internet could respect eachothers' differences, but of course that's never gonna happen
@scruffi u triggered by a joke?
He banned me from at for a week & posted this on the same day
It killed off the love in a instant
@scruffi well, you're kind of a dick and a hypocrite
& your 12 years old xom
"Downvoting is not something we want you to take lightly! Use it wisely in the spirit to improve the platform."
I dont think this is TOO subjective, but I also dont think it's wrong to predict that given enough time, the value of a downvote will decrease in a sort of treadmill effect. The "bad" threshold for a downvote will slide lower in time.
That being said, I dont find reddit or google to suffer too much from this effect. If my comment gets downvoted because people dont like or agree with it, I move on. I think some of us are getting a bit too hung up on being able to downvote things that they just don't agree with or don't like it. If that happens, so be it.
I like it I hate the hateful comments and supposedly "advice". Thanks AT!
u know, most of the time 'supposedly advice' is usually actual advice that u just refuse to take cause u and people like u are too stuck on cloud nine to accept it
theres a difference between actually constructive criticism, and obvious hate
whether or not u feel like learning to discern that is ur own problem
Man, downvoting sucks. It simply adds negativity to the site. You can never see who actually downvotes, so people can hide behind hating other people's comments anonymously, which I think is terrible. And if people don't like this very comment, my personal opinion, which affects no one in any way shape or form, enough anonymous clicks of the mouse can hide my comment. On many track, there are downvoted comments that are not "spammy, misplaced or sloppy and do not add anything substantial to the discussion", but instead, are just people being hateful to the specific artist, track, or are just being all around annoying. And I see people asking for help and tips on how to make music (not asking for people to listen, or spam), and people downvote innocent comments such as this. At least we should be able to see who downvotes. Because as of now, many comments that are in fact important are getting taken down without reason, while the perpetrators of the occurence go unknown. I also agree with this by Xom: : "if we want the downvote and upvote buttons to do what they're intended to do, i don't think, for example, that one downvote and one upvote on a comment should cancel eachother out to zero. instead there should be a 1 by the upvote button and a 1 by the downvote button so that the information the numbers show can be more telling of how many people downvoted, even if the majority happened to upvote instead, or visa versa" .
My overall verdict: right now, downvoting is not beneficial at all, given how it occurs. Could it ever be beneficial? Maybe. But it needs fixing again. I should emphasize - this is meant to be my personal opinion, it is not supposed to offend anyone including the creators of audiotool. My criticism is harsh, but it needs to be said. :) - Ty Freestyle
WOW, almost no typos in that paragraph
Screw YGS
... 2 years is a little too much.
Update: Downvotes no longer cancel out Upvotes
I downvoted this comment, but how would I know?
https://www.audiotool.com/user/andremichelle/ Thank you for acknowledging me. I agree with all of that. To be fair, I have only been on here for 1 year (about) so then downvotes wouldn't be available to me. I think its less about experience on the site necessarily, and more about how the process is. Thank you though! Glad to see my paragraph wasn't in vain... :)
I mean how would they know?
oops. "Downvoting is not something we want you to take lightly! Use it wisely in the spirit to improve the platform."
I'll stop.
i agree with my 2-weeks-ago self
When the post about downvoting has been downvoted about 700 times XD
Downvoting is dumb. If something breaks guidelines then it should just be removed, it shouldn't be up to couple of people who just downvote opinions they don't like.
Downvoting is silly, it is up to the account owner to oversee the comments on his page and report conduct he doesn't like. That's how it should be. If you don't like something on someone else's track, too bad. It's their job to filter the comments, not some random account downvoting things on other people's account pages or tracks. Also by the guide above, that means I should downvote people who don't write well. That's just detrimental to the AT community, which in my estimate is already growing strangely snobbish over really unimportant things.
For the record, we should all be grateful that this FREE DAW is even available to us. Let's just keep the community ethically responsible. Don't downvote and hide comments you don't like. Instead, tell them why they're wrong or, if spam, ignore it. Accounts have the ability to delete spam from their walls or tracks and report spam if they see fit. Self policing this issue by mob rule of voting is not going to make this a happier community. It's going to be abused and also tick off a lot of people whose comments will be shot down and unavailable.
Many thanks to the AT creator(s) for even allowing this site to be free. Y'all's the real MVPs.
Have a look at the Sample Upload Temporarily Disabled thread. In my opinion the Downvote was used in a senseful way. I haven't seen any abuse over the time this function has existed. At least not in the quantity predicted by some doomsayers
Downvoting is silly, it is up to the account owner to oversee the comments on his page and report conduct he doesn't like***
So you want devs sitting and working on reviewing comments that get reported? It would not be silly?
Sorry we can't fix the bug u reported or sorry we cannot develop new tools because we busy reviewing the comment where trap kids call u a bitch.
I GOT DOWN VOTED 2 TIMES DON,T IT WAS SPAM OR NOT I JUST PUT IN A LINK IN 2 BOARDS AND IT GOT DOWN VOTED SO I THINK I TRUCKED UP
https://www.audiotool.com/user/andremichelle/ you're welcome
audiotool you have blocked my ip address this is illegal
this is very relevant to this thread, thank you.
I know this is a complete necro but I want to spark up some more conversation on this topic. I, for one, like the downvote feature. As @sandburgen said, it has been used pretty sensibly since its implementation. A lot of spam has been erased, as well as a lot of harassment. I think the people abusing the downvote button are the same people who tend to get downvoted quite frequently anyway, so the abuse (if even present) is most likely cancelled out.
There is/was a recent problem in the algorithm which decided what to hide. This resulted in lots of unnecessary visible downvotes. We're working on this.
why can't we downvote tracks?
ik
i want to be able to downvote
everyone can downvote.
ye, it's the upside-down triangle by the like button
downvote test