Hate to bring this up for the MILLIONTH time, but...

It must be done.

There is a practical reason to bitch about downvoting. Ready? Here goes...

When someone downvotes your work to get you out of the top 5 category there is little hope that people will see your work. Most people need to get to be a regular staple on the top 5's list to get recognized, and because of jealousy amongst the other poets they usually spend little time there- replacing the good poems with mediocre ones that get pity votes.

I think that when a poem is in the top 5 category that you should only be able to vote 3-5. If it got there we obviously know that it's not a bad poem. Very few poems ever get 1's anyway, not when they deserve it.

Now my own little sob story: I used to be a regular top 5 poet, but not anymore, because there are people who are always down voting any and all work that gets to top 5. That didnt used to happen, but the problem is that when it's not in the top 5 it doesnt get read.

Also, once a poem gets a certain amount of votes, say 10 fives or something, maybe 1 and 2 should not even be an option, obviously those ratings would only be used to downvote, and when you get downvoted a 3 it doesnt affect your score nearly as much as it does to get a 1 or 2.

I know that the ratings arent important, but unless you get to top 5 it's very hard to get noticed. No wonder that the newbies are complaining... I dont think it used to be this cut throat.

I have to agree with Kaitlin... it's happened to me twice, once in the catagory of nature and the other in special events. Those poems don't get too many votes, so one 1 vote got me down from 4.4 (or something) to 3.8. It's highly annoying, and then the poem just gets forgotten about...
This post is a bit pointless, but I just thought I might as well post my concerns on this.
:-)
But then again, they're only votes...

I have had the same problem! The only place my poem seems to stay for any length of time is on Nature. I had one go from 11 votes of 5 to a 3.9 and another starting again with 5's now is 4.1. I don't understand why people do it. On the other subjects I don't last long at all if I do get there. But I am still learning so it's not as big of deal to me on the other ones. I have just started to ignore the votes you have to because I think it's the comments that help me the most. I am on here to grow not play immature games. Down voting someones poems so u can get your own poems there is not fair. There is so much talent I see go off that board so fast. I am trying and I agree some of my work shouldn't be there but I would prefer someone to leave a comment on how I could improve instead of just voting it a 1. I understand what u are saying and you have a lot of talent.

I've had the same problem, several times. Once one of my poems reaches the Top Rated (for that specific genre) it is instantly rated down.

It can't be stopped, unless voting is taken away. However, if voting was removed, then that would take away a lot from the site.

I don't care too much about votes, but I hate seeing people downvoted for no reason. It's immature.

ON THE OTHER HAND, how is being upvoted with no reason (save, "She's my friend!") must also be justified. I think there are a lot of poets on here that are highly upvoted, because of who they are, and not because of their poetry.

We will NEVER be able to change the voting system to apply to the poem, and not the person.

~Ciao Lipton

I respect your firm "votes are shit" stance on poetry, but for practical purposes of how the site is run it simply is not an issue that can be ignored.

I am not bitching about this purely for me. Honestly, like Bob said, enough people know my work that I get enough comments and votes strictly because people seek out my work, but for the newbies or lesser knowns out there being a top 5 staple is a MUST to get noticed, there are far too many poems and poets on this site to be found any other way.

Sometimes I look at the top 5 list, read the poetry, and wish I hadnt. It's not good- then I go through the categories and read some of the lower voted poems (with enough votes on them to know they must have been on the top 5 once) and they are fantastic, downvoted again, damn.

Anyway, the issue is known, and the only solution I can think of is the one I posted in the first post.

And Bob, I know I am farr too HUGEly opinionated to not have some target downvoters from the discussion boards, but this isnt just about me. I know that the only reason I have regular readers today is because I was a regular top 5 poet, and there's no hope for talent to rise to the surface if everyone is being drug down to the murky depths of the bottom feeders.

Sidenote: I am really grateful and honored to have been chosen for the contest this week :)

Yea, actually I only recently got my first top 5 poem and I got all giddy and excited...then someone rated it a one and it was knocked off within two days lol

Honestly Kaitlin, other than the fact that not as many people are going to be able to read it, it doesn't bother me that much.

and I must beg to differ in this statement:
"I think that when a poem is in the top 5 category that you should only be able to vote 3-5. If it got there we obviously know that it's not a bad poem."

Not necessarily true. I have seen plenty of poems that go on as follows:
"I love you
without you, I'm blue
You're so fine
I want to call you mine"
That have as many as 5 or 6 votes of a 5.0, so we cannot really say that all poems rated in the top 5 are on some level good, bad judgement takes place alot on this site.
*ahem* (12/13 year olds and people who don't actually read poetry) end cough.

Firstly, Mr. Shank, I completely understand your point, but Poe was not around during the information age.

You have to be a big fish in a small pond to compare to the big fish in the bigger ones, if you get my drift.

And Pink, I have never personally seen a poem in the top 5 that I would vote under a 3. 3 is decent, 2 is shit, 1 is absolute pre-school level shit. But I understand your point as well. You will have a gold F in no time, I imagine that if you were having to beg and solicite for comments and readers you would feel differently.

I still think that if you dont make top 5 you generally cannot generate enough reputation to gain attention for your talents, and I'm sick of mediocre poems being in the top 5 when there are so much better on this very site.

That is an aspect, but the top 5 is a much bigger influence. Most people on this site do not participate in the discussion boards.

Kaitlin, i rather like your ideas, especially on not being able to vote 1-2 on poems with so many votes or that are in the top 5. wonderful suggestion. and yes bob, another reason that many people are downvoted is because people simply disagree with them in the forums. i haven't really posted that much in the forums, so i haven't experienced it that much, but my best friend is a regular "discussioner" who gets downvoted by people who don't like him. they don't actually care about the poetry. well, thats my 7 cents. take care, ciao~lyn

Seven? That was worth seven?

I think it was worth eight.

Haha! Lymtab, bro!

~Ciao Lipton

funny lipton, just making an appearance on the scene huh??? where's your 8 cents on the subject??? just messing. lymtab.
ciao~lyn