Hmmh, there are some ideas out there. Maybe we’d be better off with these more nuanced slashdot labels, or emoji reactions. I mean they’re not quite the same thing, but we have these emoji reactions on Github where you can give like 6 specific ones like thumbsup/down, a rocket, eyes … And I think some of the Fediverse microblogging platforms have them. It’s a step in that direction. The common argument against them is, we can’t calculate a ranking with nuanced choices and it becomes unclear how to sort the posts.

And i still use some platforms entirely without voting. Like more old-school internet forums. I think they’re fine and fun to use. Sometimes they offer the ability to give stars or medals for outstanding comments. But other than that voting is pretty much absent. I think it immediately makes them loose the social media vibes. But it often changes the atmosphere for the better. But it’s probably really the result of several factors.

I don’t know how to tie this up. Seems we agree, the current mechanics of Lemmy isn’t the pinnacle of evolution. Maybe one day someone implements a better concept. It might take some effort to make fundamental changes, since this is baked into the underlying Fediverse. But there’s lots of room for improvement left, in my opinion 😉
(And it’d probably help lots of users if the ranking and sorting wasn’t just a blunt popularity contest.)