PSA: purpose of downvotes on Reddit is to flag threads/comments that don't contribute to the discussion/community, NOT comments you simply personally disagree with, or which might require extra clarifications or discussion

I've seen this trend very acutely in this sub and some other subs throughout the years, so I think a PSA is warranted. A lot of interesting and valuable comments and threads get downvoted for no good reason.

The purpose of downvotes on Reddit is to flag comments and threads that don't contribute to the discussion and the community. It is NOT to flag comments you simply disagree with, or which are unintentionally incomplete or slightly wrong, or require further clarifications or discussions.

Discussion is how we arrive at consensus in the civilized society, so, flagging/downvoting a decent comment/thread that's mostly correct, but unintentionally incomplete or slightly wrong, isn't the way to go. Even if the thread is incorrect, if it results in an interesting discussion, by the discussion rule, it follows that it should actually still be upvoted instead (provided that the misunderstanding is not intentional or malicious, of course).

The purpose of actual flags (compared to mere downvotes) is to flag content that's Spam, Malicious etc. Comments and threads which you simply disagree with should NOT be flagged. Comments and threads where customers think Cricket is not treating them right should NOT be flagged. Civilized and articulate comments and threads which show Cricket in a bad light should NOT be flagged (in fact, they should be upvoted if truly articulate and entertaining, per the discussion rule).

This is NOT an echo chamber society, so please don't treat it as such. Anyone with an interest in AT&T, Cricket Wireless, 4G LTE, 5G NR, related topics and the RF/wireless industry as a whole, are welcome in this sub.