

I don’t think it’s possible to ban drive-by down voters, but I wouldn’t worry about it.
The vote counts don’t mean nearly as much, here.
Places like Beehaw simply disable the downvote function, and I barely notice it’s gone, when I’m there.
I find downvotes most helpful as a warning that someone asking questions is actually arguing in bad faith. Beehaw is much more tightly moderated, and that sort of sensitive discussion just isn’t welcome there, anyway.
Which, I think is fine. The Fediverse is large and growing. We have enough room for lively discussions in some places, and an enforced chill vibe in others.







Yeah. That reminds me of my friend.
She was embarrassed about it sometimes, but she was also at the heart of our friend group. I think those are related.
I think it sometimes, maybe often, made her feel small and vulnerable.
But she liked people quicker and better than I ever could. And she often did a better job than I could of telling people how she felt.
She was a warm person trying to fit into a cold culture.
I think she realized her own warmth was a strength, eventually.
Now I try my best to let go and feel and show love the ways she did.
Edit: To be clear - she would crush hard on someone new very quickly. Then she would share it and sometimes get ingored or hurt, or sometimes date for awhile and break-up.
But whatever happened, if they didn’t turn out to be total assholes, she chose to be an irrepressible friend toward them, afterward.
She was always self conscious about the whole cycle - but we all admired her.
We were pretty honest about that, but some people have a hard time accepting compliments.
I learned a lot about how to be a better friend, from her.
I wonder sometimes how her eventual husband (now widow) felt about her fan club of exes. I figure he must have been pretty confident - he would have had to be!