I have been a victim of serial de-voting over last 4 months, which system did recognized couple of times, but it gets bit annoying when someone continuously devotes your question/answers without putting any comments down.
Thanks
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3 Answers
This has been asked several times on MSO, and the answer is always a resounding no.
Here are the links to some of the discussion (ad nauseam) that has occurred on meta.stackoverflow.com.
Encouraging people to explain down-votes
Why not allow downvote only with at least an anonymous comment?
Down Voters Should be Forced to Leave a Comment
Just for those who aren't aware, SharePoint.StackExchange.com is built on the StackOverflow platform, so we (the SharePoint moderators) aren't actually responsible for the way the site works.
Requiring people to explain their downvote only encourages argument. If allowed, I see this scenario playing out:
- Comment: I downvoted this for reasons X, Y, and Z.
- Original poster: That is invalid because of A, B, and C.
- Comment: Sorry, but I do not feel that A, B, and C address X, Y, and Z, and additionally, even if they do, you didn't do a good enough job explaining this in your original answer.
- OP: Well, that's YOUR opinion, and opinions are not allowed on SE, and therefore you should be banned!
It's not required to explain an upvote; why should you explain a downvote? People are already (mildly) disincentivized from giving them in that a downvote removes a little bit of your own reputation as well.
