I often write an explanation of why new members’ posts have been downvoted below zero, when the people that downvoted them didn’t bother. Downvoting below zero with no explanation seems really un-welcoming. I realize it’s a walled garden, but I feel like telling newcomers what they need to do to be welcomed is only the decent thing to do.
I disagree, but FWIW, I do think it’s good to help existing, good contributors understand why they got the karma they did. I think your comment here is an example of that, which I think is prosocial.
I’m curious why you disagree? I’d guess you’re thinking that it’s necessary to keep low-quality contributions from flooding the space, and telling people how to improve when they’re just way off the mark is not helpful. Or if they haven’t read the FAQ or read enough posts that shouldn’t be rewarded.
One possible reason: bouncing off early > putting in a lot of effort and realizing you’ll still never get traction > being kicked out. Giving people false hope hurts them.
I don’t think you should never help out a new person, but I reserve it for people with very specific flaws in otherwise great posts.
I agree.
I often write an explanation of why new members’ posts have been downvoted below zero, when the people that downvoted them didn’t bother. Downvoting below zero with no explanation seems really un-welcoming. I realize it’s a walled garden, but I feel like telling newcomers what they need to do to be welcomed is only the decent thing to do.
I disagree, but FWIW, I do think it’s good to help existing, good contributors understand why they got the karma they did. I think your comment here is an example of that, which I think is prosocial.
I’m curious why you disagree? I’d guess you’re thinking that it’s necessary to keep low-quality contributions from flooding the space, and telling people how to improve when they’re just way off the mark is not helpful. Or if they haven’t read the FAQ or read enough posts that shouldn’t be rewarded.
But I’m very curious why you disagree.
One possible reason: bouncing off early > putting in a lot of effort and realizing you’ll still never get traction > being kicked out. Giving people false hope hurts them.
I don’t think you should never help out a new person, but I reserve it for people with very specific flaws in otherwise great posts.