But online? There’s almost zero context. Even something as simple as the weather makes a load of difference for the small talk that can develop into richer conversations later.

Online social anxiety, especially forums like this one where you get a grade (the upvote/downvote), is very understandable.

[–] yetAnotherUser@lemmy.ca 5 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Do you think hiding the upvote/downvote numbers would help?

[–] Chinchillax@lemm.ee 5 points 3 months ago

That’s a good question. I don’t know.

Just speculating, the upvote/downvote does help a user know what is expected behavior and some understanding to build from.

It also provides a rich incentive to post because “number go up” feels good.

I’d love to know YouTube’s data on hiding the dislike button. It wasn’t great for viewers, but it may have had an effect on creator satisfaction. But I don’t know for sure.