So, coming from the world of RIF where downvotes haven't been a thing for quite some time:
what are downvotes for in Lemmy?
What am I expressing when I downvote?
I don't agree with the post? I don't want the post to gain notoriety? I don't like the sentiment or the way it's expressed (even if it's factually true)?
Downvotes weren't a thing in Reddit is Fun? I definitely remember downvoting things using RIF right until the end.
To me, I will downvote things that do not deserve any visibility. Such as things that are factually wrong, things that don't contribute, overplayed jokes, hateful posts,...
In addition to what the other user said: some subs were hiding the downvote buttons through their custom subreddit styles. You'd only see this if you used old.reddit though and if you disabled the css (or used an app like RiF) you could downvote as normal.
So, coming from the world of RIF where downvotes haven’t been a thing for quite some time
Not sure what you mean by this, I used RiF and that still had downvotes. Downvotes are generally used for low effort content, people trying to troll or are intentionally rude. Just generally content you don't want to see and does not fit in with the community you're in. It's not a disagree button.
Down votes are for poor quality posts and comments. They are not for things you disagree with unless it's also a bad post. It's also for community enforcement of rules and norms.
Examples: "Hitler did nothing wrong"... Down votes and report to moderators.
What about Obama violating the Constitution killing Americans without due process. He stayed president so Trum can to. - down vote and explain the logical fallacy.
Pink and magenta are the same color! - down vote because it's factually wrong.
Thomas Kinkade is a great artist! And here is why ... - up vote and comment on why you disagree and try to encourage discussion.
Skunks smell good! - up vote and discuss how some people have generic difference that make skunks not smell as bad.
A riddle for you. If you have two, you are normal. If you have one you are generous, if you have none you are dead, and if you have three you are a criminal. What is this?
The healthiest way to use downvote is to downvote off-topic comments and posts. Don't vote up or down stuff you disagree with. Report trolls and flamebait