Possible change to "Respectfully Disagree"

[Evil Eye]

This may or may not be a terrible idea, so please don't take this as anything more than a mild hypothetical "would this work?" but I'm wondering if a change to the "Respectfully Disagree" reaction might be justified. At present, it seems to be used primarily as a drive-by "I don't like this post" button, rather than an actual expression of disagreeing respectfully. I have been guilty of doing it myself a few times, though more recently I try and reserve it for "I hear what you're saying, but..." or "I see where you're coming from but I don't share that view".

 

Now obviously nobody likes passive-aggressive "downvotes". Personally I don't entirely agree with the concept of a downvote on a community forum at all; if someone doesn't agree, they can just say as much, and if something's really awful then it can be reported, whilst a quick reaction of "yeah, I like this!" is obviously far less of an issue.

 

Now, that said I think there is a place for the Respectfully Disagree reaction, but not in its current form. Assuming it should stay (and I think there's arguments that it should) I'd say the best solution would be to make it actually give reaction points to the receiver as with the other "positive" reactions. This would serve two purposes:

1: Encourage use of it as a constructive reaction. "I think X model would look good in Y colour! What do you think?" might get a few of 'em with the intention of saying "I don't think that would work" in a genuinely helpful way, rather than any kind of snide or unpleasant undertones.

2: Discourage it from being used as the Dreaded Grey Circle of Disapproval, as it is being used at present. If someone really doesn't like a post, they can either say why they don't like it, or ignore it completely and just not engage- a drive-by "I disagree but I see your point" is going to give the poster extra points, after all, so if a post really ruffles their feathers enough they feel the need to express their dislike for it, they're considerably less likely to drop a silent "downvote"- they can just say why they don't like the post, or not say anything at all.

 

Just a thought, anyway.