Is this documented for Lemmy or just grandfathered from Reddit?
Not all instances even support upvotes. Some only support downvotes. Does every instance have to agree on the meaning?
Good question. The documentation says:
On the left side of each post there are up and down arrows, which let you upvote or downvote it. You can upvote posts that you like so that more users will see them. Or downvote posts so that they are less likely to be seen.
which doesn’t really back me up.
My downvote principle was meant more generally - most places that have a downvote policy say that it’s not meant for shouting down people you disagree with, since that’s not conducive for civil and nuanced conversations.
I understand the point (especially if some can’t use downvotes) but I hope the alternative isn’t something like this post, because I don’t think I’ve ever seen a less civil one.
You’ve never heard anything less civil than “shut up”? You live a very sheltered life if that’s the case.
