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>Sometimes I wonder what would happen if reddit got rid of the upvote button and only allowed posts to be down votted.

That might actually make things worse. Astroturfers would systematically downvote everyone else, while legitimate users would usually only downvote a small handful of things.

If that happens, it could make it easier to identify them. Reddit already has quite sophisticated spam detection algorithms.

Wouldn't a downvote-only mechanism make it easier to hide dissenting opinions without giving chance to show support for a position/comment? Besides that, I wonder how would the top-rated comment system work, given that posts start with 0 downvotes.

Basically, I don't think that a non-exploitable method exists, however pessimistic that sounds.

Howabout if users were only given one upvote and downvote every twenty four hours per comment and submission.

You mean we'd get /quality/ moderation, just like slashdot?

Welcome to Slashdot circa, I dunno, ancient times. I still wonder why no one has bothered cloning their moderation system - in my mind it's the best one I've ever seen on a major website.

An extra perk is that upvotes can be categorized (and downvotes) that add context. On Reddit all too often the top comment in a thread is a quick and easy joke, and the real insight gets buried. On Slashdot these two types of posts would coexist and be flagged as such.

Indeed. It's surprising to me that no-one has yet been successful combining Slashdot's idea of meaningful moderations with the almost universal practice on newer forums of promoting highly moderated material to earlier in the discussion but having the advantage decay over time if that material doesn't continue to receive strong endorsements. If demoting material had to come with a stated reason, like giving incorrect information or being off-topic, it might also mean fewer people use the down arrow as a substitute for "I disagree", which IMHO would be no bad thing on sites like Reddit and HN.

> Articles and comments which survived the war of attrition might be a little more inciteful.

You're definitely trying to incite something. But I prefer insightful.

inciting what? =)

Ah yes there is 'flood' of pro-Israel comments so it must be a conspiracy.

And what about the 'flood' of anti-Israel comments?

How very reddit of you.

Reddit has traditionally been left in its political thinking and the left traditionally disagree with the current political direction in Israel.

Just like you attempt to denegrate my comment by suggesting Im a conspiracy theorist, so too do many people on reddit find their comments subjected to a barrage of downvotes or whimsical retorts for posting something that may be construed as pro-palestinian or anti-israel.

I mean look at your comment as an example. I wrote about the obvious nature of comment and post manipulation on reddit and you instead try to shift the attention towards Palestine and Israel, selectively quoting my post to construe.. something unnecessary.

Maybe you think you and others are a target of 'whimsical retorts' not because you are the target of 'whimsical retorts' but because you have a poor grasp of what legitimate rhetoric is.

Your claim is that there is manipulation of reddit. Manipulation implies that there is a 'non organic' illegitimate entity or group of entities working to exert their influence - a conspiracy to influence reddit. You are asserting that there are conspiracies to influence reddit and therefore you have a conspiracy theory and therefore you are a conspiracy theorist.

I could go on from here and tear down the other ridiculous accusation that I am maliciously 'shifting' the discussion, but this should be sufficient enough to encourage you to reconsider your position.

And yes, reddit is left of center and the left tends to be anti-Israel. What of it? Does that imply that there are no members of reddit that are not left of center? Does that imply that there are no people who are left of center that also are not anti-Israel? Does that imply that all rhetoric that does not strictly echo traditional left of center views is illegitimate?

More things to think about.

I turn your attention to such organisations as the Jewish Internet Defence Force which has a [twitter feed](https://twitter.com/JIDF) listing reddit posts. This is lifted straight from their about page.

>r ACTION ALERTS are now well known throughout the Jewish and Israel advocacy world, and by our many enemies, as they have led to the removal of thousands of antisemitic and jihadist pages online. Whether it's an antisemitic Facebook page with millions of members, or a YouTube video promoting global jihad, our team is on it, monitoring it, and urging companies to adhere to their own rules.

If that isn't a non organic entity working to exert influence on reddit I don't know what is!

So you have proof that there are entities that fit an ideological profile that is consistent with pro Israel comments.

Now you have to show that the 'flood' of pro Israel comments are a result of this organization or others like it to game reddit.

The existence of the JIDF and other similar organizations that have the explicitly stated goal of flooding Internet conversations with pro-Israel comments, would make the argument self evident.