Title: From time to time I have wanted a downmod button. Today there was some linkbait on the front page--something about real programmers not using abstractions or what-not--and my first thought was that the best thing to do is to ignore these posts.<p>And then it hit me: downmodding is not ignoring. Neither is upmodding everything else. Sure, there's some imaginary value of pushing it off the front page quickly, but if people naturally upmod the things they like, it will drop off the front page in due time.<p>Trying to accelerate that process for things I don't like is getting emotionally invested in them. Why give them the time of day? The very best use of our time is working on the things that matter. Downmodding stuff is not working on things that matter.<p>Thinking about good posts isn't either, but it's a lot closer to things that matter.<p>I'll stop now. My thesis is this: not having a downmod button is a good thing if you believe that you should be channeling your time and energy into things that matter.
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