Can we PLEASE have a STUPID ANSWER button? Right next to the "Great Answer" button.

[Insert your username here]

No, some people would damage their keyboard.

Answerbag tried that. It crashed thier site :)

Lol!!!! I never thought of that.. that would be so funny!!!

@DarkScribe I truly laughed out loud on that one

@rangerr Clever. I like playing off my username too. But that wasn’t very helpful, why don’t you tell me why you feel that way?

God no. People would be arguing about it non-stop. Trust me. I’ve seen it on other websites. The concept of “downvote” (as it’s usually called) sucks.

“Who downvoted me?”
“You just downvoted me because you disagreed!”
“Conservatives always get downvoted!”

And then you have the people who get pissed off and downvote every post in the question. You might say the inverse of the Great Answer shouldn’t make much of a difference, but it does. Most people would rather not receive a Great Answer than receive a Stupid Answer.

I just think it would bring unneeded drama. No thanks.

Lurve is like a warm hug. I would not want it countered with a slap.
(Life slaps us enough don’t you think?)

Nope…

Because some people will get offended and cause drama.
Some people will get offended and quit the site.
Some people would abuse the button.
It just wouldn’t accomplish anything.
If you think an answer is stupid, ignore it and move on.

Sometimes I wish there was a stupid question button, but there’s not.
Now is one of those times.

@rangerr

Ooh. Burn.

No, no, no. Even though I’m pretty sure it was my answer that inspired this question.

FWIW, we’ve discussed the idea of negative lurve a number of times, and it’s just not what this site is about. Positive reinforcement only. :)

@rangerr A stupid question button…LOL

@DominicX Great points, of course. Yet at the same time…we build people up on Fluther without boundaries. I saw the stupidest thread EVER, about cheeseburgers, or something, and the OP must’ve gathered about 1000 lurve points from the fact that she kept making cute comments as the conversation went on…that shouldn’t be allowed. Not that it’s a contest, really…but lurve does translate, somewhat, into people’s opinion about the value you have to offer.

However. The very first, helpful, comment on this question, was YOURS. Really, Fluther provides a pretty fun experience, and I don’t mind the quips, and sarcastic comments. They make me laugh. But sometimes…it’s just so dang stupid, you can’t help but think that you’d like to punish that person.

Trolls would LOVE that feature!

People are going to point thier faves, @nope, sometimes to the detriment of the person they are trying to build up. This is turning into more of a human nature topic, it seems. Personally, I’m okay with that, but I wanted to see if it was okay with you, since it’s your question.

@nope

To each his own. What you think is stupid, someone else loves. If some people here had their way, only philosophical “meaning of life” questions would be allowed (gag). Sometimes it’s best to just let people enjoy themselves. Generally if something is too off-topic it isn’t allowed and of course, rude and flame-bait comments aren’t allowed. At least they do that here. Some sites allow anything. If I don’t like a comment, I either ignore it or if it’s particularly awful, I will call the person out on it.

And really, you are implying that it’s a contest. Why do you care how much lurve someone else accumulates? Personally, I barely even notice the lurve points. That’s just me, however.

I have repeatedly been told that what I see as ‘stupid’ is what some other users see as ‘fun’ or humorous. I have been accused of not having a sense of humor and even told to “lighten up” when I object to the stupidity. Stupid is as stupid does, whatever that means.

@YARNLADY pfft look at your avatar! who says you don’t have a sense of humor? hehe ;P

@DominicX I agree with you, about the way people perceive questions, and answers, at least to an extent. There are questions out there though, that elicit so many sarcastic responses in the first 5 mintues, that they are removed forever. Hmm.

And, I think rude comments ARE allowed here, a lot. Probably because mods can’t really keep track of everything, and most people don’t bother to flag things.

I didn’t mean this to get into a bunch of people harshing on me, it was supposed to start a discussion. And, this particular question, and its responses, isn’t feeling very good to me, as most people aren’t taking it seriously.

People would abuse a ‘stupid answer’ button.
I have a feeling you’d be one of them.

Why are these answers stupid to you? Because you disagreed with them?
Holy smokes! How legit. I’ll help you with the ‘stupid answer button’ petition.

@nope

Don’t you think that if a question receives that many sarcastic responses that quickly that it may not be a very good question to begin with? Sometimes people ask questions with really obvious answers or ask them with few details or ask them in an inflammatory way. Often those are the types of questions that receive a multitude of sarcastic responses. If you have other examples, maybe you could link to them or something?

And yes, mods can’t keep track of everything, but flag as much as possible and call people out on rude comments as much as possible. That’s all I can do. :\

I was thinking about this the other day.

The conclusion I came to is that it creates animosity among the site members, and will often keep people from posting out of fear of getting flamed. We have great mods, just let them know by flagging stupid answers.

I think the whole “stupid answer” thing goes against the spirit of Fluther and its community. It’s all about the lurve people :).

@DominicX No, actually, I don’t…in fact, I see a direct correlation between the number of sarcastic responses, vs. the time of day quesitons are asked. I should probably reserve my questions for like…5pm. But, my best questions come to mind at night.

So let’s get back to me. Does my question have an obvious answer? I don’t think so. Did I leave details out? Hmm, that’s probably up to the reader, but I think I added detail. Did I ask it in an inflammatory way? If it’s inflammatory, I’d like to know how…maybe I don’t understand the English language. And, I didn’t link to any particular questions, because I’m not trying to call anyone out.

@nope

To be honest, the reason I think some of the answers on this question weren’t the nicest was because people get pissy every time someone questions how the site runs. It’s just a Fluther fact. It happens all the time.

Sarcastic answers are more indicative of the respondent’s poor manners than the questioner’s intelligent question(s)...

@ShiningToast
You know, I agree that it would. And maybe my question is badly worded. Isn’t that always the case, as you find out in hindsight.

I guess what I’m really looking for is a way to discourage bad behaviour. And maybe there is no way to do that, at the end of the day.

At the same time, we seem to reward ALL behaviour. So…that seems kind of one-sided to me. I don’t have a solution to this. That’s why I was asking.

@davidbetterman

This is turning into a chicken vs. egg argument…

I think people who give sarcastic answers just like to say they had a “reason” for it, such as the question’s low quality. A lot of people were recently complaining about the quality of questions here.

Sarcasm is a coward’s way of trying to shame another human.

@davidbetterman

I disagree. :)

@nope Exactly. I’ve been on other sites, (specifically RvB) that had a “Karma” system similar to lurve. Back in the day (2002–2005, when I frequented the site), you could mod people up and down. People learned how to game the system, and shit went crazy, people got banned, came back under different usernames, etc. They eventually re-worked the system awhile later to do away with the negative modding (or make it significantly less impactful to your Karma score).

I know it would be nice to affect the lurve score of annoying people, but I know the names of troll by heart ;).

@DominicX Well, I like how the site runs. I’m not complaining. Nor do I think my question was complaining about the site per se. It was meant to be a suggestion, and elicit constructive commentary. My bad, apparently.

If you want to question how fluther is run, be my guest. You offered (perhaps out of frustration, but still) an option, and that’s a good thing. Maybe this idea wasn’t the greatest, but so what? People don’t like change, but change is the only thing that creates health, where there would be stagnation. A smart person in ANY arena would consider various opinions. This is common knowledge no matter where you are. Plus, everybody knows that frustration you felt tonight. As is common around here, delivery wasn’t what it could have been when you asked this question, but believe me…..you will never hurt for company.

@ShiningToast

One site I was on had it so that if your comments and questions got downvoted, your overall score would lower as well. (The total amount of score accumulated to a level on a scale of 10). I had a troll on that site who went through all my questions and answers and downvoted as many as possible. I went from a Level 8 to a Level 1 in a matter of minutes! I can see a lot of abuse in the future if that were allowed.

@nope

I didn’t say you were complaining. But people don’t like it when people “suggest” either. I’m not saying that’s great, it’s hypersensitive and a bit bitchy. But it happens. I disagreed with your idea, but I don’t think I was rude about it.

A form of wit that is marked by the use of sarcastic language and is intended to make its victim the butt of contempt or ridicule.

Web definitions for sarcasm
witty language used to convey insults or scorn;

@davidbetterman My definition of Sarcasm is a 20 year old computer geek who plays entirely too much Starcraft. I don’t know what you’re talking about.

@DominicX Same thing as on the site I was on, except the higher you went the less effect each mod thing had on your score, and it maxed at 99. It was harder to neg people single handedly into oblivion, but not impossible. If you had friends, it got easier.

Oh! Now I remember how it worked. You had a fixed number of points that you could award, and weather you negged or upped someone affected your count, it would cost one. If you upped someone else, they would get that point, if you negged them, it would disappear. I think the mods introduced more mods into the system. It was very well thought out, but not completely fool proof, as time showed.

@rangerr You’re still in the running for “do you have to get the last word in,” too!

@ShiningToast

That certainly would be better than what we had on AIROW. We actually had one user go batshit insane because of her low score. She exploded and insulted every user on the site, used racist, sexist, homophobic terms, just went insane.

That was an anomaly, but I’m just trying to show what downvoting does to people! It’s evil. :(

I just don’t think we need the extra negativity, that’s all. Great Answers are positive. Stupid Answers are negative. I don’t want the negativity. :\

I’ve said this quite a few times. I wouldn’t want the “stupid answer” button to take away points because, like many have said, it’s an opinion thing, and… to each his own. The world would be boring if we all thought the same thing. But when some asshole says some racist/sexist/homophobic/transphobic/whatever-ist/whatever-phobic thing that pisses me off, I’d really like to be able to display my disgust and disapproval with a simple anonymous click, instead of having to choose between either wasting my time, energy and brain power on writing a reply or PM that will fall on deaf and idiotic ears, or looking like I agree and/or am not bothered and/or don’t care.

I’m gladd people are talking about this. :)

@DominicX Yeah, that’s what I was thinking too, as well as the Fluther Devs when they designed the site. They wanted to focus on the positive, and I think it worked for the most part. Sure, some people get heinous amounts of GA for cute answers, but so goes it, and we have a (mostly) positive community, I feel. Trolls will always exist, this is the interwebz, after all.

@ShiningToast

Exactly.

I’ve already felt the hardest lurve-related blow you can have on this site and it’s bad enough! :(

@DominicX Oh, that made me lawl. Let me guess, the other two had one liners? Not to call you out, jonsblond, I love you :).

Okay, new idea? Maybe two levels of lurve would be appropriate, a button for “Great Answer”, and a button for “LOL Answer”...

@nope

We had that on AIROW too. We had “interesting”, “funny”, and “moronic”. It was the third one that caused all the problems, though.

@DominicX What was AIROW exactly? I’m guessing it died, when I google it I get nothing.

@DominicX Yeah. I’m sure it did (meaning, the third button). I need a room full of smart people to help me figure this out.

@nope Can we PLEASE have a STUPID ANSWER button?

Nope.

@FutureMemory Dude, read the thread…that joke has been used like 3 times already.

@ShiningToast

AIROW (Am I Right or Wrong?) was a Q&A site that I joined back in 2006 and is the whole reason I’m on Fluther today. It was a relatively amateur site run by a teenage boy named Jay. But several users here (Fyrius, Sarcasm, Mariah, le_inferno, ragingloli) are originally from there. It was shut down in January 2009.

@nope I tried to read it but it was boring so I skipped down to the bottom. Sorry.

We all have the option to critique someone’s answer privately or in the thread.
The stupid button is unnecessary and too anonymous!

@Dr_Lawrence I agree with that…to a point. But the “Great Answer” button is already very anonymous, and oh-so-easy to click on. We reward people so openly, yet punishment is left to private comments, or being nasty back in the thread. Not saying I have a better answer here. Just hoping people will think about it.

EXAMPLE

I think all the answers where people said no because they don’t want the negativity are STUPID.

Woulda been nice if I’d been able to click “stupid answer” on all of them so there was just a little number you could’ve ignored. Now you’re reading this and dealing with… negativity.

@MacBean You’re a jerkface. ~

@nope I can’t vote for a negative button, either. I’ve seen it before. It doesn’t work. Sorry. Also, anonymous negativity….not my thing. I prefer more honesty than that. Talk to me face to face, thanks! You give people something to hide behind, they’ll take it. Every. Single. Time. Guaranteed.

@rangerr: I ♥ you, too, bb. :D

I think that’s a bad idea, it would only create a problem where there wasn’t.
That’s what the mods are for, no?

@MacBean Dude, I’m saying I’m against a stupid answer button because I know what it’s like. Being positive is nice and all, but it would just be waaaaaaay to easy to abuse a stupid answer button. I’m against it from an abuse standpoint, not a utopian one.

If you still think I’m stupid, das’ cool. You’re entitled to your own opinion, and I mine.

I agree with @FutureMemory “Can we PLEASE have a STUPID ANSWER button?
Nope.”
also about the part when he said “I tried to read it but it was boring so I skipped down to the bottom. Sorry”

@Violet tl;dr eh? I know how that goes.

@ShiningToast tl;dr?

@Violet Too long; didn’t read :).

@ShiningToast: First of all, I said the answers are stupid, not the people. Really smart people can give really stupid answers sometimes. Also, I meant to imply with EXAMPLE that I was just… giving an example. Not expressing my actual opinion. I don’t think being against a “stupid answer” button is stupid at all. I can definitely see that side of the argument. After all, Fluther works just fine the way it is. I just think being able to silently register disapproval would cut down on arguments and flame wars, and make things easier for the mods and more pleasant for everyone. If I say something douchey and get thirty “stupid answers” then I’ll either ignore it or make note of what I said and be less of an ass next time. If I say something douchey and get a direct reply (because people ARE going to express their negative responses), then a debate starts and other people jump in, someone feels ganged up on, people start bitching that Fluther is cliquey, blah blah blah…

@phillis I agree with you. Totally. And yet, we have 100% anonymous, and uncontrolled, POSITIVITY. There’s no balance.

@MacBean True, you did say the answers were stupid, not the people. I failed to make that distinction. Me sorry :).

I can totally see what you’re saying with the whole clique thing too, I definitely have felt that vibe before. People are so defensive, sheesh… ;).

Wait…..we’re complaining about rampant, anonymous positivity?? Jesus, I’ll take what I can get, thankyouverymuch! And I don’t need you fucking with that deal, to be honest. There’s a whole lot of shit handed out on a daily basis to pretty much anybody with a heartbeat. If somebody wants to hand me a couple of lousy points “behind my back”, you aren’t going to hear me complaining about it.

Maybe the best thing to do would be to see the gift, say “thank you”, and enjoy a nice, steaming cup of shut the fuck up. Are you feeling me? I don’t know about you, but it’s really nice to be able to bitch endlessly about how someone was anonymously nice to me.

See, it would’ve been so much nicer if @phillis had been able to click “stupid answer” and move on to another question, instead of spending all that time typing out two paragraphs of profanity-riddled vitriol that’s probably going to make @nope feel ten times worse than a little number 1 next to “Stupid Answer!” would have.

The ’stupid answer’ button can be pushed by not pushing the ’good answer’ button.
That seems fair to me.
You said that people openly reward, but do you not see that people openly punish/disagree? I see it all the time. All you have to do is respond to the user in the thread and tell them that you disagree or think their answer is stupid or however you’d like to word it.
I was at a website where we had a downrate option and you could actually take away points from a user. This was ideal for trolls and anyone to use who disagreed with you about the slightest thing (even if you weren’t being disrespectful in your response.) You seriously could have said, “I hate cats” and any cat lady could have come along and minused you up to 5 points.
Because the ‘stupid answer’ button would be anonymous, it would definitely be abused.
Perhaps it would be different if ’stupid answers’ were made public, but then people would be in an uproar over that. You can’t make everyone happy.

I think we’re getting off-track on what these websites are really all about. We aren’t suppose to log on and punish people (as you worded it.) If that’s what you want, maybe you’re at the wrong website.
People are here to seek help and advice, to laugh and have fun, to learn new things and express opinions, to vent, to inspire….
I think people seriously have their priorities phucked when all they’re worried about is how to tell someone their answer is stupid other than by PMing them or just flat-out telling them in the thread OR by ignoring them. Seems logical to me.
But I suppose it’s easier for people to avoid confrontation by just slipping off a quick ‘stupid answer’ and continuing on their merry way.
I left a website that was like that. I don’t want Fluther to turn into one of those places where you can anonymously tell someone their answer is shit. I want people to be direct with me if they don’t like what I have to say. Not be a coward and hide behind a stupid answer button.

@Vunessuh Okay. So I hear what you’re saying. And I don’t think YOU are hearing the spirit of my question. Please don’t flame me for asking this, because I was legitimately curious about what people thought about this idea. AND, please don’t make assumptions that you know anything about me, or what I’m trying to get out of this site. I agree that a “BAD” button would probably be bad, and probably be abused.

Everybody seems to have such a strong opinion about that “BAD” button, how it wouldn’t work, how it would be bait for trolls, etc. Yet I hear nobody talking about how the “Great Answer” button is abused. So many times, you see that sarcastic comment rewarded, etc. Or, even a COMPLETELY unrelated answer, that’s really a response to somebody else’s tangential comment.

If we need to express disapproval through words, then perhaps approval should also be expressed that way. Why do we have a score anyway? I mean, what does your “7307” mean to me? What does my “1386” mean to you? Obviously those numbers will change, probably in minutes, but do you get my point?

And I DO have fun here, it’s why I keep coming back.

People would use that everytime they just didn’t like someones answer because it is not what they believe or simply when they just didn’t like someone. Had that problem on AB. Plus you would have to have a stupid question button as well. So I would vote no.

@nope I wasn’t flaming you and I wasn’t making assumptions. I’m just expressing to you how it comes off to other people when people constantly bitch about points and awards and buttons. It sounds like you’re jealous over points that other people get for ‘cute’ answers or sarcastic answers or answers unrelated to the topic. Why be jealous over something that is virtually fake? Why be upset over that? It’s silly. Again, I’m not saying that you have fucked up motives or a skewed perception, but that is how is comes off with how you’ve worded certain things.

Now, since the points and all of that is fake, I know you’re next question. So why do good answers matter so much? Why can’t we have a Q&A website without a points/awards system?
The truth is, that is one major component to all of these websites that keeps people coming back. It’s part of what forms the addiction. People get to log on and see how many points they racked up while they were sleeping. They get to see if they achieved any new awards. Not to mention, people like to be rewarded if they’ve given a thoughtful and/or clever answer. Unfortunately, you’re going to get people pointing users for just about anything and that mostly happens between friends. But remember, something that seems stupid or pointless to you, may be intelligent or hilarious to someone else. In the end, the stupid answer button isn’t really going to discourage ‘bad behavior’. And what exactly determines bad behavior? Everyone has a different tolerance level when it comes to that.

These points and these awards that we have don’t mean a damn thing other than we’ve been rewarded for our activity and contributions on the site. In the end, that isn’t a bad thing like you seem to be making it out to be.

If i’m in agreement with any so called “stupid” answer,i’d be in favour of an i’m with stupid button.Better still wear the t shirt.Stupid is as stupid does.

I’d rather see a “stupid question” button…since about 50% of them are.

You already have the power of lurve with the GA button. By not pressing that you affirm your disapproval of that answer plus there is the flag button what more do you need? An anonymous BA button would be open to all sorts of abuse. I think if you truly have an issue with an answer just say so in a reply to that jelly and explain why you take exception to that answer. If you don’t like something that much just have the guts to come out and say so.

Forgive me for not reading the entire thread as it was fairly long by the time I got here with my stupid answer. Personaly I am here because I do believe everyone has a valid point. Trolls aside. I might not like all the answers but I do know, that next time round that same person has given me a great answer. Or later on I realized that answer was not as bad as I had first thought.

This site is run very effectively. The Mods are on the ball, queries are answered speedily and I think most people here who stay have all got a brain and a right to answer a question as they see fit. The general “tone” of this site is one of collective sharing. Meaning, different experiences, coming together to form a huge matrix of opinions. This is the beauty of Fluther. If you were to add a “stupid answer” to what purpose would this serve? Particularly if you or anyone else was in a snarky mood, or had lost their reading glasses. Would the answerer be inclined to answer more questions?

Remember too, it is the answerers who make the question. A question can float off to the orphan section fairly easily I reckon don’t you? Don’t forget also a lot of users are giving their time and thought to ones questions. I always appreciate an answer. I do not suppose to be “the answer God” and decides who’s answer is ” er stupid”.

Do you also suggest a “stupid question” button? Just thought I would ask. Perhaps we should throw in a few emoticons.

A stupid button is for lazy people that need everything spelled out for them.

Sometimes answers are best when you have to read between the lines. Like life.

I lurve you @MacBean. <3

@jjmah thanks for finally stepping out into the light. It’s about time :)

No, let’s not have a button like this. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times about Fluther…..IF IT ISN’T BROKE, DON’T FIX IT

@phillis kiss my lily white. :)

Here is the way I see it. On a site that elicits people’s opinions and views on a wide range of issues, even sensitive ones like religion and politics, having a ‘stupid answer’ button would be just that- stupid.

I think being able to lurve an answer or question lets people know they are being supported, or allows them to support others. How wonderful the idea that a group of people could discuss something like healthcare and the only point system they got was based on people supporting them! If people disagree they are forced to voice why, which is a more adult way of going about things than simply pressing a button saying they suck, or their answer does. If a Jellie decides to harass the person with the different view instead of discussing their opposing view, than they get modded and the debate continues. I just don’t see the appeal of such a button, that would let people get away with silent bullying, and make Jellies lazy. One of the things I like the most about Fluther, is that people are able to explain themselves intelligently. And the few that don’t, I ignore their comments, simple as that.

A stupid answer option would do nothing to improve the fluther experience, quite the contrary. The only consequence will be a series of petty rivalries prepetuated through negatively impacting another user. That’s not what this site is about.

We have a wide user base consisting of people from all walks of life, from all over the world. This is a place for the free exchange of ideas, for fun, entertainment, learning and above all community… to degrade our support/reward system to the equivalent of a teen girl bitch fest over a petty disagreement would only hurt the site.

I fully support having a “dumb question” option within the flagging options for questions. otherwise.. if you think an answer is stupid be a grown-up and provide a response stating why you think so. This is not junior high, this is not a teen comedy. Grow up and face people.

@jjmah What a thoughtful sentiment. I am so glad you came out to me! I’m sorry to have to let you know that I already have a man. You have a nice day, now :)

[mod says:] To be clear, the passive aggressive comments (where you might not outright curse at the other person) are still considered flame. Let’s be civil, thanks guys.

I think a button to order lunch would be in order.

@ChazMaz Now that’s an improvement I could get behind. Plus there’s already a Stupid answer button, it’s called “Flag as.”

I agree with no. Although there are times…....

While I would love such a button at times I remember the hell the downrate button caused on another site.

The complaining would be deafening.