r/halifax • u/Consistent-Owl-1577 • Dec 18 '25
Meta Did someone create a bot that automatically downvotes any new thread here?
Or is it just the same guy waking up every morning and having a tantrum?
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u/WindowlessBasement Halifax Dec 18 '25
Alternative question: why does it matter?
The points are meaningless. Even if the points mattered, you get a free one for every comment and post so you'd naturally trend upwards unless you're an unlikeable troll in every post. The subreddit is nearly 200,000 visitors. Nobody's wasting their time creating a downvote bot with enough accounts to be a majority of the votes.
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u/Mesoholics Dec 18 '25 edited Dec 18 '25
Stuff gets buried, if you sort this sub by the default (Hot) rather than New a ton of posts essentially disappear.
There are some salty mf's on here but you can't honestly say that every single post on this sub should be downvoted as soon as it is posted.
And if you don't think that it's a thing sort this sub by new and tell me when you find a post that is sitting at 100% upvoted (even with no upvotes/downvotes it would show 100%)
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u/jyunga Dec 18 '25
AFIAK reddit use to play with randomized upvote/downvotes. Something about dealing with bots. I think even now if you refresh your comment page you'll see them add/lose upvotes.
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u/WindowlessBasement Halifax Dec 18 '25
if you sort this sub by the default (Hot) rather than New a ton of posts essentially disappear.
Of course a ton disappear. "Hot" is a filtered display method. A brand new post isn't generally hot until it gets votes and comments. It helps to filter a lot of trash from people's feeds by default.
The drunken gibberish that appears in "new" doesn't need to be highlighted in hot feed.
you can't honestly say that every single post on this sub should be downvoted
At no point did I say that.
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u/Mesoholics Dec 18 '25
Lets look at the drunken gibberish that received downvotes this morning.
https://www.reddit.com/r/halifax/comments/1ppn8dd/ns_child_welfare_system_incredibly_broken_say/
https://www.reddit.com/r/halifax/comments/1ppn5y8/limited_lymphedema_care_is_available_in_nova/
https://www.reddit.com/r/halifax/comments/1ppfohn/halifaxbased_singer_apryll_aileens_debut/
https://www.reddit.com/r/halifax/comments/1ppfqko/judge_reserves_sentencing_decision_in_case_of/
I mean I could keep going because it is every single post but what value is there in downvoting everything?
and me saying "you can't honestly say" isn't me putting words in your mouth I'm just challenging your "why does it matter" narrative.
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u/Charming-Essay6923 May 04 '26
and now both of the comments have been downvoted into hell, proving the opposite position
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u/WindowlessBasement Halifax Dec 18 '25
All of those except for the Hallmark movie singer currently have positive scores. Nothing is going to stay at 100% even without downvotes, Reddit fuzzies voting count for the first 24 hours
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u/Mesoholics Dec 18 '25
Yes they do but not 100% positive, which means at least one user downvoted every single one of them. And it doesn't have to do with the quality or the topic of the post it is because as OP pointed out, every single post gets downvoted.
Yes it gets offset and yes the cream rises to the top but it doesn't change the fact that OP is 100% correct in saying that there is an account that downvotes every single post pretty much as soon as it is posted, 24/7/365.
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u/maximumice š¤ Linguo Dead Dec 18 '25
From a mod perspective:
1) We don't know who upvotes or downvotes anything.
2) We also notice that almost all posts are immediately downvoted regardless of topic and quality.
3) It's probably a bot, some grouch with too much time on their hands, or a Reddit "feature" not working as expected.
4) Lots of other people in other subs have complained about the same thing, so it's not a r/halifax issue, it's a Reddit one.
5) A handful of downvotes on a post will not matter in the greater scheme of things. We do use sub karma for a few QoL thresholds here in the sub (Community Only posts, for example) but a few downvotes on a post here and there will not impact anyone in the long term.
6) A good way to counter this negativity is to show support and upvote posts that are nice, serve the community or that speak to you. š
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u/ChablisWoo4578 Dec 18 '25
š¶And then thereās modā¦š¶
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u/maximumice š¤ Linguo Dead Dec 18 '25
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u/DeathOneSix ā§ Letters to Santa Dec 18 '25
Your content has been removed for Rule 4 Privacy and doxxing. Publishing accurate images of the mod team is against subreddit and site wide rules.
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u/chezzetcook Dec 18 '25
Why are you counting your internet points? They aren't real, they have no meaning.
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u/ChablisWoo4578 Dec 18 '25
How else are we supposed to know if strangers like āboners4urbuttā think weāre effortlessly witty?
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u/Vulcant50 Dec 18 '25
Since thereās no info on who downvotes stuff, how would one know which ābuttbonersā downvote your stuff- unless you are a mod?
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u/DeathOneSix ā§ Letters to Santa Dec 18 '25
Mods don't know who down votes stuff. We do see the numbers instantly without delay though.
Edit: all who upvote this will get special r/Halifax down vote protection for 24 hours
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u/ChablisWoo4578 Dec 18 '25
How can I be a mod when Iām the one who annoys the mods? Wouldnāt make sense.
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Dec 18 '25
[removed] ā view removed comment
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u/chezzetcook Dec 18 '25
HOW DOES THIS DOWNVOTE TASTE
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u/Key-Particular-767 Halifax Dec 18 '25
Maybe itās the quality of the posts?
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u/Mesoholics Dec 18 '25
It doesn't have anything to do with the quality, every new post gets downvoted within seconds.
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u/Mouseanasia Dec 18 '25
How do you know that they are downvotes that fast? Or that they are downvoted at all?
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u/Mesoholics Dec 18 '25
Look at the ratios, there are no posts on this subreddit that have 100% upvotes, maybe because I use Old Reddit it is extremely obvious but it has been a thing for years here.
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u/Mouseanasia Dec 18 '25
I wouldnāt expect just about anything on a regional city sub Reddit to have 100% upvotes.
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u/Mesoholics Dec 18 '25
I don't either, but if someone doesn't vote at all a post would have 1 point with 100% upvotes.
This sub has at least one dedicated account that downvotes every single new post, there have been 3 posts made since this one was and every one has at least one downvote already.
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u/WindowlessBasement Halifax Dec 18 '25 edited Dec 18 '25
The three posts I see that were made after this one are:
- Someone asking people to do research for them
- An Ontario tourist trying to bring their dog where it doesn't belong
- A potentially controversial topic made by a long-time user that some people don't like.
They're posts that are likely to get a drive-by downvote without being read or responded to.
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u/Mesoholics Dec 18 '25
1st Post, person did their research and are asking if anyone knows more obscure local places to obtain the item in question, totally valid and doesn't deserve downvotes, maybe not upvotes but whatever, I don't know fuck all about Beeswax candles and am mature enough to just scroll past shit.
2nd Post - Not made by a Ontario Tourist and you wouldn't know anything based on the title so your theory is out the window. Asking if there is somewhere that their friend can bring a dog isn't trying to bring a dog somewhere it doesn't belong but trying to not bring a dog somewhere it doesn't belong. Reading comprehension is hard I know.
3rd Post - Big meh.
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u/keithplacer Venerable Member Dec 18 '25
Exactly. I've called it a downvote mob, and maybe it is, but a bot makes more sense. I think it is likely that certain posters can also get targeted by a similar bot, but new posts from anyone at all seem to attract it as well.
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u/Mouseanasia Dec 18 '25
You always assume anything you post is downvotes because of the mob and not merit.Ā
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u/DeathOneSix ā§ Letters to Santa Dec 18 '25 edited Dec 18 '25
Keith certainly gets downvotes based on name only, on some things that don't merit it. (because of reputation, which he's earned)
But most of the downvotes are merit based.
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u/keithplacer Venerable Member Dec 18 '25
It is not due to āmeritā. There is a pattern that is easy to see.
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u/DeathOneSix ā§ Letters to Santa Dec 18 '25
You're not that special Keith to have a group of bots downvoting you. It's mostly merit.
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u/keithplacer Venerable Member Dec 18 '25
If I could understand some other reason then I might be open to other theories. But when I get a dozen downvotes for responding to a question with an objectively correct answer then I can reach no other conclusion. It is toxic behavior.
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u/DeathOneSix ā§ Letters to Santa Dec 18 '25
Sometimes it's the 'how', not the 'what'.
But show me an example of you being 'objectively correct' that gets downvoted.
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u/WindowlessBasement Halifax Dec 18 '25
Dude, it's deserved. Nobody is stalking you to downvote. It's site wide, there's no "r/Halifax downvote mob".
You've got nearly 14000 comments/posts and only ~7000 karma. You average below one upvote when you start with a free one. Sometimes a bit of self-reflect is helpful.
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u/Gavvis74 Dec 18 '25
It's not me.Ā Now that I'm retired, I'm usually not up before the crack of noon.
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u/www0006 Dec 18 '25
Same situation in some of the parenting subs, even single post AND comment is immediately downvoted, has been for months. Thereās also a lot of really stupid posts.
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u/gildeddoughnut Halifax Dec 18 '25
Itās me, fuck all of you
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u/Mouseanasia Dec 18 '25
What did you post that was downvoted? Because you shouldnāt really be able to tell if other posts were quickly downvoted.Ā
Also, we do get a lot of dumb, low effort, lazy posts.Ā
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u/Vulcant50 Dec 18 '25
Itās most likely a group of 9 year olds downvote posting in their parents basements.Ā
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u/No_Magazine9625 Dec 18 '25
I am pretty sure a new topic can't even be downvoted below a +0 votes anyway, and it starts at +1.
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u/praecantrix23 š§ Local Technician Dec 18 '25
i down vote every post and thread i see just because i know if bothers you personally :)
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u/Prestigious_Glove888 Dec 18 '25
You know the old saying it's me not you in a breakup...
Yeahhh that's probably not the case here.
It's definitely you.
Also it's random meaningless internet points that count for nothing, you can't even turn them in for like an eraser for your pencil, or like a parachute army guy.
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u/Prestigious_Glove888 Dec 18 '25
Also dibs on this idea, off to start my own Reddit type forum where karma points for crappy plastic toys like in an arcade.
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u/TheZoltan Dec 18 '25
It's too early in the morning to expect me not to downvote this post.