Downvote
Also called: downvotes, downvoted, down arrow
Definition
A downvote is a negative vote on a Reddit post or comment, cast with the down arrow. It signals that content does not contribute, lowers its position in sorts, and reduces the author's karma.
A downvote is the down arrow next to every Reddit post and comment. Reddit's help center puts it bluntly: downvotes mean users think content "should never see the light of day." It is the counterweight to the upvote.
What a downvote does
- Pushes content down. Net score drives the Hot and Best sorts, so downvoted comments sink and heavily downvoted ones are often collapsed by default.
- Costs karma. Downvotes reduce the author's karma. Comment karma can go negative, down to a floor of -100; post karma stops at 0, according to Reddit's AutoModerator documentation.
- Feeds the controversial sort. Content with lots of upvotes and lots of downvotes ranks high under Controversial.
How downvotes are supposed to be used
Reddiquette, the community-written etiquette Reddit hosts in its help center, says to downvote content that does not contribute to the community or is off-topic. It also lists things not to do with downvotes:
- Downvote an otherwise acceptable post because you personally don't like it.
- Mass downvote someone else's posts.
- Vote based on who posted rather than what they posted.
In practice, people also downvote what they disagree with. Expect it.
Why it matters for marketers
Downvotes are the fastest feedback Reddit gives you. A comment at -5 within an hour is telling you something: it read as an ad, it missed the question, or it came off defensive. On a commercial account, a pattern of downvoted comments also makes later comments look worse when people click your profile.
The usual causes for brand accounts:
- Leading with the product instead of the answer.
- A link nobody asked for.
- Hiding an affiliation that someone then points out.
- Arguing with critics in the replies.
Example
A SaaS founder replies to a complaint about their product's pricing with a long defense. It sits at -12 by evening. The next day they reply once more: acknowledge the point, explain the free tier plainly, and offer to help via the support link. That reply ends up positive, and the thread reads better for anyone who finds it later.
Common mistakes
- Deleting a downvoted comment immediately. Sometimes the score recovers as the thread matures. If it was wrong, an edit acknowledging it often lands better.
- Downvoting competitors' comments. Pointless at best; if done with multiple accounts or coordinated with others, it is vote manipulation.
- Reading early scores as final. Reddit may hide or fuzz scores in a post's first hours.
Frequently asked questions
Why was I downvoted for no reason?
Usually there is a reason: off-topic, unhelpful, perceived as self-promotion, or simply disagreement. Reddiquette discourages downvoting just for disagreement, but it still happens.
Can downvotes get my account banned?
Not on their own. They lower karma, which can keep you below a subreddit's karma requirement. Bans come from rule violations, not vote totals.
Can I see who downvoted me?
No. Votes are anonymous.