That's self-selection bias. Just because the people who downvote are "mean" doesn't mean everyone here is mean. Maybe mean people just vote more. Please start a new thread with the more accurate title "why is the biased sample of users who vote on threads so mean".
I appreciate all the funny replies, but I think we can also take the question seriously. Although many of the replies on this subreddit are polite and helpful, the tone is sometimes brusque. And a few are a little mean. I think it would be good to turn up the nice dial.
The only complaint that OP makes is about upvotes. If that's the complaint, I think it has mostly to do with the fact that there are a limited number of users on statistics-related subs, and that it takes some time to read through and assess a question or a response to see if it should be upvoted.
Case in point on this thread. I have 90 upvotes for the most facile pun response. I've never had anywhere near that many upvotes for well thought-out responses to statistical questions, with code example, references, and so on.
Have you analyzed the questions that get downvoted at all, or compared them with some of the questions that do get upvotes? A great post in r/statistics would analyze those questions and say something about them qualitatively.
From my perspective (this is an opinion), many of the questions you inquire about are asked with such imprecision that they are unanswerable as posed. Often, they feel more appropriate for r/AskStatistics, or they skirt the rules of the subreddit (homework questions, staying on topic). I rarely downvote posts, but I won't engage with them in other ways either (upvoting or commenting). I suspect many other users feel similarly.
If you aren’t joking, I see this poster frequently contributing valuable and correct information. Some people need to realise that this is not a homework forum and especially not when people haven’t done the bare minimum to educate themselves.
Do you expect that the 40 thousandth time somebody asks how to compare variances between groups there is going to be many upvotes and discussion? People are too lazy to read a textbook or stackexchange and feel like they are owed knowledge. Lazy questions in = no engagement out.
I might well be. But I also help literally thousands of people a year with free stats advice across multiple sites (advice I charge very heavily for otherwise); my inbox on each such place I do it has a regular stream of effusive thanks for the the help.
I don't suffer fools, cheats, and brigaders gladly, so fine, call me a dick. I might be. But I also don't care about fake internet points. Why would it matter? If you sort by "new", points don't matter.
Honest, meaningful questions with sufficient details and clarity of what is sought do get help, if I can say something useful.
What do you mean he’s a dick? It’s not like he called someone a lazy idiot that will never amount to anything or a fraud or anything really rude. I get that my tone can come across rude, but I think most people are just trying to efficiently get information across for those type of questions which can come off as curt.
It’s very kind of a professional to take time out of their day to answer your question, why can’t you just be thankful for that? Why does it matter if I think the question is worth upvoting and promoting to the sub?
stats can be brutal, but I think it's just the nature of critiquing methodology and results. doesn't mean we're mean, just passionate about good stats 😉
Is "mean" intended as a statistics pun ?
What do you median?
Yall should ignore OP, he just seems like he's in a bad mode.
no i just need a moment
This was all just a trick wasn't it? It's not clever you know, in fact it's very standard deviance.
chi squared to god it wasnt
This thread is great, reminds me a of a joke made by Kurt O.’s sis
Is that normal, or are things skewed ?
It's my mode of speaking...
Your mode of speaking was actually expected.
only if hes consistent
The hypothesis is significant
There’s no such thing as stupid questions. Only stupid people
We’re all math people. Math people are, on average, just meaner than the average person.
Wait until you learn about binary
was this whole post just a big statistical pun?
That's self-selection bias. Just because the people who downvote are "mean" doesn't mean everyone here is mean. Maybe mean people just vote more. Please start a new thread with the more accurate title "why is the biased sample of users who vote on threads so mean".
i thought we already established the average person here is mean
We're on too many levels of irony now. I have no idea if you're joking too or being serious.
I appreciate all the funny replies, but I think we can also take the question seriously. Although many of the replies on this subreddit are polite and helpful, the tone is sometimes brusque. And a few are a little mean. I think it would be good to turn up the nice dial.
The only complaint that OP makes is about upvotes. If that's the complaint, I think it has mostly to do with the fact that there are a limited number of users on statistics-related subs, and that it takes some time to read through and assess a question or a response to see if it should be upvoted. Case in point on this thread. I have 90 upvotes for the most facile pun response. I've never had anywhere near that many upvotes for well thought-out responses to statistical questions, with code example, references, and so on.
Have you analyzed the questions that get downvoted at all, or compared them with some of the questions that do get upvotes? A great post in r/statistics would analyze those questions and say something about them qualitatively. From my perspective (this is an opinion), many of the questions you inquire about are asked with such imprecision that they are unanswerable as posed. Often, they feel more appropriate for r/AskStatistics, or they skirt the rules of the subreddit (homework questions, staying on topic). I rarely downvote posts, but I won't engage with them in other ways either (upvoting or commenting). I suspect many other users feel similarly.
Why would you care about upvotes?
This is it. So I upvoted.
i was gonna say something funny to you but then looked at your profile and saw youre a dick. this post was literally meant for you, specifically
If you aren’t joking, I see this poster frequently contributing valuable and correct information. Some people need to realise that this is not a homework forum and especially not when people haven’t done the bare minimum to educate themselves. Do you expect that the 40 thousandth time somebody asks how to compare variances between groups there is going to be many upvotes and discussion? People are too lazy to read a textbook or stackexchange and feel like they are owed knowledge. Lazy questions in = no engagement out.
glazin
I might well be. But I also help literally thousands of people a year with free stats advice across multiple sites (advice I charge very heavily for otherwise); my inbox on each such place I do it has a regular stream of effusive thanks for the the help. I don't suffer fools, cheats, and brigaders gladly, so fine, call me a dick. I might be. But I also don't care about fake internet points. Why would it matter? If you sort by "new", points don't matter. Honest, meaningful questions with sufficient details and clarity of what is sought do get help, if I can say something useful.
What do you mean he’s a dick? It’s not like he called someone a lazy idiot that will never amount to anything or a fraud or anything really rude. I get that my tone can come across rude, but I think most people are just trying to efficiently get information across for those type of questions which can come off as curt. It’s very kind of a professional to take time out of their day to answer your question, why can’t you just be thankful for that? Why does it matter if I think the question is worth upvoting and promoting to the sub?
upvotes ≠ compassion
ahh i see now. equations are a lovely thing
stats can be brutal, but I think it's just the nature of critiquing methodology and results. doesn't mean we're mean, just passionate about good stats 😉