Stack Overflow downvote: who can cast one, what it signals and what the rules forbid
A Stack Overflow downvote is a moderation privilege awarded at 125 reputation, and the help pages say it signals that a post is wrong, poorly researched or unclear. The displayed score is the sum of up and down votes, a user can vote on posts 30 times per UTC day plus 10 more on questions only, and the site's rules against targeted voting are enforced by removing some votes.
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Score and vote count on questions and answers: the sum behind the number
The number beside a Stack Overflow post is a sum. The help page for established users says voting scores, as displayed, are the sum of the up and down votes on a post, so upvotes and downvotes end up in a single number.
A user with the established-user privilege can see what the sum hides. And the same help page describes vote counts as the individual up and down votes that make up the score, viewable by clicking it.
Voting is how the question-and-answer system sorts its content. Stack Overflow's page on why voting matters says it helps useful content rise and incorrect content fall, and the vote down page describes a downvote as the community's way of marking questions and answers it finds unhelpful.
- Score: the sum of a post's up and down votes, as displayed.
- Vote counts: the individual up and down votes behind the score, open to users with the established-user privilege.
- Downvote: the community's way of marking a question or answer it finds unhelpful.
Reasons to downvote a question: research effort, clarity and accuracy
Stack Overflow's vote down page gives the test for questions in one sentence: downvote questions that do not show any research effort or do not contain enough information to be clear and answerable. The page on why voting matters states the wider signal, that a downvoted post contains wrong information, is poorly researched or fails to communicate information.
Those reasons sort into three themes: research effort, clarity and accuracy. And a fourth theme, scope, belongs to a separate mechanism. The help page on what is on topic says questions that are too broad, unclear, incomplete or primarily opinion-based can be closed by the community until they are improved, and the how-to-ask page treats a question that is off-topic or otherwise unsuitable for the site as a candidate for closure.
- Research effort: the question shows what the asker tried before posting.
- Clarity: the question contains enough information to be clear and answerable.
- Accuracy: the post contains wrong information or fails to communicate information.
- Scope: off-topic, too broad or opinion-based questions fall to closure, a separate mechanism.
Elementary questions and downvotes: what the help pages name as the test
Stack Overflow's help pages do not list an elementary question as a reason to downvote. The reasons they attach to a downvote concern the post itself: wrong information, poor research, unclear communication, too little information to be answerable. A question's being basic is not among them.
Research is where a basic question meets the rules. Before posting, the how-to-ask page strongly recommends spending a reasonable amount of time researching the problem and searching for existing questions, and it adds that Stack Overflow has been around for a long time, so many common questions have already been answered. A question already answered elsewhere on the site is therefore exposed to the first test on the vote down page, research effort.
Explaining why related questions did not help changes that. The how-to-ask page says that when the answer cannot be found elsewhere on the site, links to related questions and an account of why they fall short help prevent a duplicate mark.
Downvoted questions: explanation is optional, and comments and edits are offered
Stack Overflow does not make an explanation part of a downvote. The vote down help page lists commenting and editing as things to do instead of or in addition to voting down, which leaves the explanation optional.
A downvote on a question therefore arrives as a change in the score and nothing else. The score is the sum of the up and down votes, and users with the established-user privilege can open the individual counts. Counts are numbers, and a number carries no reason.
For an asker, the stated reasons are the working list: research effort, clarity and accuracy. An edit that adds what the question lacked speaks to them directly, for instance just enough code to allow others to reproduce the problem, or links to related questions with an account of why they did not help.
Reputation privileges and daily limits: 15 to upvote, 125 to downvote
Voting on Stack Overflow is gated by the reputation system: each ability opens at a stated level. Upvoting posts is a privilege awarded at 15 reputation and downvoting posts is a privilege awarded at 125 reputation, according to the help pages on voting up and voting down, and both pages label it a moderation privilege.
Quantity is limited as well. The vote up help page allows a user to vote on posts 30 times per UTC day, plus 10 more times on questions only, and to vote on comments (30 times per UTC day, separately from post upvotes).
A vote is not final. A user can undo it by clicking the same button used to cast it, so the up arrow undoes an upvote and the down arrow undoes a downvote.
What follows from the privilege ladder: an account below 125 reputation has not yet been awarded the downvote, and an account above it still draws on the same daily allowance of votes.
How Stack Overflow controls targeted downvotes: reversal, removal and prohibition
Stack Overflow deals with misused votes after the fact. The vote up help page says that where voting patterns look targeted at a specific user, the votes are likely to be reversed, either by automatic systems or manually following an investigation by the staff.
The help page on reversed serial voting gives the routine: some votes are removed by an automated process that runs every day, and others are removed by staff after an investigation. Meta Stack Overflow's page on inauthentic usage names three prohibited behaviours.
Stack Overflow is not a contest or poll, and Meta Stack Overflow still says buying or selling reputation, bounties and other favours is a form of voting fraud and not permitted.
- Artificially boosting the popularity or score of content or users.
- Artificially inflating one's reputation through targeted voting.
- Coordinating inauthentic behavior, including through the use of fake accounts.
| Action | Stated threshold or limit |
|---|---|
| Upvote a post | Privilege awarded at 15 reputation. |
| Downvote a post | Privilege awarded at 125 reputation. |
| Votes on posts each day | 30 per UTC day, plus 10 more on questions only. |
| Votes on comments each day | 30 per UTC day, separate from post upvotes. |
| See separate vote counts | Open to users with the established-user privilege. |
| Undo a vote | Click the same button used to vote. |
What to do
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Reach the downvote privilege
Downvoting posts is a privilege awarded at 125 reputation, according to the vote down help page, so the option is not available to an account below that level.
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Judge the post against the stated reasons
The vote down page says to downvote questions that show no research effort or lack enough information to be clear and answerable, and the page on why voting matters ties a downvote on any post to wrong information, poor research or unclear communication.
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Cast the vote within the daily limits
The vote up help page allows 30 votes on posts per UTC day, plus 10 more on questions only, and a separate 30 votes on comments.
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Add a comment or an edit where it helps
The vote down page lists commenting and editing as things to do instead of or in addition to voting down, so an explanation is optional and a downvote stands without one.
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Undo a downvote with the same button
A user can undo a vote by clicking the same button used to cast it: the down arrow undoes a downvote and the up arrow undoes an upvote.
Frequently asked
Why do people downvote elementary questions?
Stack Overflow's help pages do not list an elementary question as a reason to downvote; they tie a downvote to research effort, clarity and accuracy. A basic question that an existing answer already covers is exposed to the research test, because the how-to-ask page recommends searching existing questions first and notes that many common questions have already been answered.
When is it justifiable to downvote a question?
Stack Overflow's vote down page says to downvote questions that do not show any research effort or do not contain enough information to be clear and answerable. The page on why voting matters adds that a downvote on any post signals wrong information, poor research or a failure to communicate information.
How does Stack Overflow control downvoter trolls?
Stack Overflow limits who can downvote and how many votes a user can cast, and it reverses or removes votes that break its rules. Downvoting is a privilege awarded at 125 reputation, a user can vote on posts 30 times per UTC day plus 10 more on questions only, and votes from patterns that look targeted at one user can be reversed.
Why do people downvote newbies' posts on Stack Overflow?
Stack Overflow's help pages tie a downvote to the post, not to the person who wrote it: research effort, clarity and accuracy are the stated tests. Votes aimed at one user are a separate matter, since the vote up help page says voting patterns that look targeted can be reversed by automatic systems or by staff after an investigation.
Why are my questions on Stack Overflow getting downvotes without explanation?
Stack Overflow does not require an explanation with a downvote: the vote down page lists commenting and editing as things to do instead of or in addition to voting down. The score is the sum of the up and down votes, and users with the established-user privilege can open the individual counts, which are numbers and carry no reason.
What reputation does a user need to downvote on Stack Overflow?
Downvoting posts on Stack Overflow is a privilege awarded at 125 reputation, while upvoting posts is awarded at 15 reputation, according to the vote down and vote up help pages. Both are labelled moderation privileges.
How many votes can a user cast on Stack Overflow each day?
On Stack Overflow, a user can vote on posts 30 times per UTC day, plus 10 more times on questions only. Comments have a separate allowance of 30 votes per UTC day, apart from post upvotes.
What does the score next to a Stack Overflow post show?
The score on a Stack Overflow post is the sum of its up and down votes, as displayed. Users with the established-user privilege can see the individual up and down counts behind it by clicking the score.
Cited sources
- stackoverflow.com. stackoverflow.com/help/privileges/vote-down.
- stackoverflow.com. stackoverflow.com/help/privileges/vote-up.
- stackoverflow.com. stackoverflow.com/help/privileges/established-user.
- stackoverflow.com. stackoverflow.com/help/serial-voting-reversed.
- stackoverflow.com. stackoverflow.com/help/privileges/vote-down.
No reputation level, edit or comment secures a good score for a post on Stack Overflow, and a downvote needs no stated reason. Trading reputation, bounties or other favours is prohibited, and the platform's systems and staff reverse or remove votes that break its rules. Whether a particular question deserved its downvotes is a judgment this page cannot make for the reader.
Reddit prohibits vote manipulation and counts using voting services, or asking people to vote on specific posts for personal gain, as manipulation. Product Hunt prohibits asking for upvotes, using bots and incentivizing upvotes. The Search for a Champion rules void votes from commercial contest subscriptions and vote-swapping sites, and the organiser may disqualify the entrant.
support.reddithelp.com help.producthunt.com championautoparts.com
Hacker News says it uses software to detect and protect against voting rings, and that its anti-abuse software drops some votes. IMDb says it may apply a different weighting calculation when it detects unusual rating activity. Ordinary participation is a spread of unconnected people voting at different times, which is the baseline these systems measure against, and this describes their checks without offering any way past them.
The documents cited here are platform terms, so the consequences they state are contractual: removal, vote resets, suspension, delisting or account termination. Hyvote prohibits vote manipulation, including buying or selling votes for a server listing. Whether a payment for votes is also lawful in a given country is outside these sources and belongs to a lawyer. Boards whose terms bar paid votes, contests that void them and political ballots are refused.
Once voting closes, an order for a board or contest that has not reached its published count is refunded for the part not delivered. Nothing is refunded for action by the platform: Hytale Servers says servers found manipulating votes face vote resets, suspension, delisting or account termination, and TopG may reset votes and freeze a listing when it catches cheating. No rank or result is promised.