questionsdo you ever wish you could see who down-voted…


Some people think the world revolves around them and will downvote a deal they feel isn't a deal FOR THEM. I'm not talking about downvoting the many obvious shills, they deserve it. I mean the people who downvote, for example, a deal for Firefly on DVD because they didn't personally like/watch the series. These people don't understand that the community is larger than just them, and deals are posted for a variety of interests, not just theirs.


I thought I was the only one that wonders this! I sometimes put up some (what I think) great deals and wonder why it was down voted.


Yeah I wonder the same thing. If they can find a better deal elsewhere, ok that's a good point. If it isn't something they'd use - who cares, move on to the next. If the product or company is bad - let me know, thanks for the info! If it is an ongoing deal in your area (but not in everyone's area) don't hate that it just became available nationwide again and was reposted. Franchises don't always have the same deals offered at the same time. I've given up defending those deals, but I will still post them to get the word out to those of us in the "limited time only" areas.


Could be people don't like the website your deal is from, or the product your deal is about, or your deal is a duplicate, or you listed free shipping when it isn't, or your deal is already expired, or you didn't include a description/price/valid link for your deal, or you have a downvote stalker, or haters gonna hate, or people meant to downvote another deal but they are using a tablet and have big fingers and accidentally downvoted the wrong deal, or a competitor is trying to downvote the competition, or 42.


@90mcg112: I have nothing new to add.

I think it's better that people don't know. Seems like it'd promote more harassment.


I have. But, I have also been an offender in this respect too. I see a lot of things (mostly on the popular page) that really don't seem to be good deals (the breadsticks from Little Caesars last week for instance). And, since I don't at all care about my rep, I'm not hesitant to down-vote popular deals. My advice is to just not let it bother you (easier said than done though).


You can't see who voted against a particular deal, but you can see every deal a particular user voted against.

Edit: I guess that's only on questions. (not deals)


Sometimes yes, but mostly no as I recognize that I wouldn't want other people bugging me about why I downvoted.

j5 j5

What irritates me is when I put up a deal that gets downvoted and dies in obscurity, then later someone else puts up what amounts to the same deal and gets voted into popularity. It just highlights for me that the upvote/downvote numbers don't really mean very much in evaluating whether a deal is good or not.

For example, my deal for Chinese lanterns at $2.50 each which ended up at -1:

Someone else's deal for Chinese lanterns at $2.50 each which ended up at 36:

Good on Belyndag for getting the upvotes, but it's an annoying phenomenon.


It is frustrating. The most irritating to me is the downvote because it was less expensive once (months ago). It may be the best deal right now on something you need, but because it was once a buck less, people no longer think it is a deal. I have no time machine!!!!


Simple. Some people are just jerks.


@90mcg112: @mkdr: @conanthelibrarian: @stile99: @drjing:

I know exactly what's going on. It's the Black Triangle club voting other deals down.

I also know how to counter this. Would you guys like to form our own clan?

Let me know. Feel free to PM me.


@moondrake: I've noticed that as well, and just experienced it myself again today. I believe certain people have an enturage of followers who will upvote anything they do, even if it is not a deal. Case in point, a certain account that posts a lot of deals for their own website posted a 'deal' for coffee today. Last I checked it had 30 upvotes. The funny thing is the deal (naturally) points to their own website...but if you look on the REAL website, the deal is about $1.50 less. So I posted the real deal...and it has been sitting there all day with just the one upvote...the one it gets from being posted. At the time I posted, the higher cost, self-serving 'deal' had 28 upvotes, meaning it got at least two more even after the same item was posted at a lower price.


Nah. If there was such a feature, and you'd actually use it to confront downvoters, then you're taking downvotes (and by extension, woot itself) far too seriously. This ain't world of warcraft.

Oh, and another thing to consider: sometimes a downvote might come because even though it might be a great product at a fair price, the site might have a bad reputation for rude customer service, not shipping items, etc. So a downvote might not necessarily be a reflection of the poster, product, or price, but merely come from a desire to warn others from getting scammed or having other problems.


I don't understand why people upvote a deal, even without looking at the actual page, when it's been expired for over 8 hours. And flagged as such. I also don't get why the Woot staff doesn't RIP deals when they are flagged, but lets them sit on the boards all day.

And I am also sure there are trolls out there who flag other Wooters posts simply because they have an attitude or feel somehow wronged or dissed. It's amazing how there are so many psychics on Woot who can determine others' motivations or educational backgrounds etc.


@starblind: To me, a downvote with no explanation isn't a warning, it's a mini-slam. How is anyone going to guess that a great looking deal with a -3 score has been downvoted because several people have experienced bad customer service? If there's a problem with the site and people want to warn others. just a few words in the comments box will go miles further than an unexplained downvote.


@moondrake: In an ideal world in which everyone had infinite free time, sure. But it takes an instant to vote vs 20 minutes typing out a detailed customer experience story, and not everyone feels like bothering with that. Especially when it could just get mod-deleted anyway.

It kind of ties into my larger point that while some people take deals.woot way, way too seriously and work hard to build a reputation and good "stats". Frankly, that's pretty silly. Post what you like and if everybody loves it, great, if not that's fine too. It's not worth stressing out over either way.


@starblind: others looks at this place as a community and treat it as such. How seriously it is taken by a particular user is their prerogative.

Though I've downvoted w/o explanation, I could see where that would be particularly irritating if you thought you posted a good deal and aren't getting any real feedback. I get more annoyed when my deals disappear w/o warning or an explanation. Now that would be a great feature, auto-email with a reason your deal was removed.


@thumperchick: Exactly, and in a community, you want your fellow community members to be guided toward good deals and away from bad deals, whether or not you have time to write a manifesto on each one. Upvoting and downvoting are both good for the community.

But that comes with a dark side too, and some users obsess over stat-building and treat Woot like, well, a game rather than a community. Every time I read someone raging over a downvote it brings to mind those videos where someone rages and screams at their computer because their Warcraft character got turned into a toad or whatever. These are exactly the same users who would use the proposed feature to harass/retaliate whoever downvoted them.


I downvoted it, and I did it because I don't like your tie.

You can rest easy now.


@moondrake: Wow! You're right! The best explanation I can think of in this case is timing. Your deal was posted April 17 at 2:14 PM and mine was posted June 29 at 5:24 AM. The time of a posting probably makes a difference as far as who is reviewing and voting on deals.

Count me among the folks who would REALLY appreciate an explanation for downvotes, just in case the vendor is a company I should beware of. (Bad grammar alert!) I rarely downvote deals, personally. If it's just not for me, or not something I consider a good deal, I just move past it. Except for those cigar deal postings. I've got a solid hatred of tobacco products and occasionally I just have to downvote them. Sorry if they're your deals. I doubt if anyone wants me to post my family/friend history of smoking related illnesses.


No, I just assume they're Reddit rejects who'll downvote anything that's not bacon, zombies, or Monty Python.


You really mean "Pull them through your monitor and smack them upside the head", don't you?


So how about a feature that works like this:

1. You downvote a deal.
2. A popup window asks why and presents you with options.
* Spam
* Found Deal Cheaper Elsewhere (May ask for link)
* Item is at regular price
* Shipping too expensive
* Other: Must provide text comment
3. Once the appropriate option is selected, it will downvote the deal and then autopost a comment with the reason it was downvoted.


I kind of like @cengland0 idea. I don't downvote often, but when I do I always mention why in a comment unless somebody has beaten me to it. The only thing I would add to the list of reasons is a problem with the seller. I will downvote a deal if the seller is exceptionally sketchy/unreliable.


We are not the ones that downvote every shoe deal.


LOL! I posted several dealsearlier today and just checked to see how the votes are going. EVERY SINGLE ONE received one (and only one) downvote.They were unrelated items from different vendors, so I can't assume that someone had a problem with all t-shirts or a particular site. Now I'm really curious! Have I been slammed or did somebody just go on a down-voting binge?


@belyndag: I'm thinking that sort of thing is just trolling, tbh.

You know it's not you, you're cool. :)

Really, I'm suspecting the more attention that gets called to downvoting, chances are the more trollvoting that happens as a result. It's a theory. I've got no science on this.


@inkycatz: You're probably right. Since these were all posted about the same time, someone got a wild hare and went to the "fresh" button and downvoted a page or two of deals, I guess.

On the other hand, I'm not particularly cool, I assure you. Just ask my kids!


@belyndag: I always tell people I'm cooler on the internets. :D


Your soap dispenser deal probably got downvoted because you can buy similar products for around $6 msrp. There are definite trends as to when you post your deal and its voting rate or acceptance. Probably has to do with the work day and when people have the free time to woot around. It would be cool to see some more statistical analysis of woot trends. Ok, maybe not cool but interesting.


mine got down voted 4 times and I think the 4th one tattled, so woot RIPed it even thou the deal is still good