Asklemmy

Taste my righteous wrath and because I can do it with one click without explaining why means I don't need to and the internet is on my side. Feels like the implicit meaning when I'm downvoted.

I think of it like a digital facial expression. Upvoting is akin to smiling or conveying some other positive emotion like affirmation or understanding (even if the subject matter is inherently negative). Downvote is the opposite- someone says something irl that makes you frown or grimmace, or you know they're telling you a lie, your expression can convey that without a single word. Here, downvote.

There's no real etiquette - if you feel like you want to give an up or down vote, just do it and don't put too much thought into it.

The latter. If it's just disagreement a quick reply is best, and sometimes it gets worked out just fine.

I am not some teacher grading essays and giving points for good structure.

That's exactly my point. You are not the ultimate judge of what is good and what is bad. I'm not telling you to upvote things you disagree with, I'm simply telling you to not downvote unless it's clearly not relevant.

All of your comments on this thread are good comments that I disagree with. Sometimes, disagreement leads to growth.