Twitter has upscaled the test for its "downvote" feature to reach more select users worldwide.
This new feature will let users rate Twitter replies through the downvote or upvote buttons, depending on how they perceive it. Either way, it will remain private, and the numbers of votes are hidden, so the author would not know about it.
The votes will be used by Twitter internally to determine what replies it shows to users.
Some users have already seen the feature, and there are more reports that it is becoming visible to a wider range of users.
As described by some, there is a statement along with the button that says Twitter is experimenting with downvoting on answers.
According to The Verge, the company has learned so far that users have downvoted comments that they felt offensive or irrelevant.
That said, the test is aimed to help Twitter learn more about users' perspectives on what is valuable to the conversation.
The Verge also said that Twitter concludes that access to the upvote-downvote button enriches conversation, so it is more likely that this feature would become permanent on the platform after further tests.
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Improving Twitter Conversations
Through this upvote-downvote feature, Twitter believes conversations in the platform would be improved. From what was observed, the majority of replies that received downvotes from users were perceived to be irrelevant or offensive.
Since its inception, social media has become a vast space for diversity that positively or negatively affects users. It goes without saying that while social media offers a wide array of usefulness, there have also been negative aspects brought about by users who cast offensive and degrading comments or replies.
Downvoting has also become the most popular way to flag content they do not want to read.
The test on the upvote-downvote feature was launched last year, and, during that time, it presented multiple kinds of downvoting and upvoting. For instance, others saw thumbs up and down buttons, while others only saw upvote buttons.
Other Platforms That Tested Downvote Feature
Similarly, Facebook also tried the idea before, wherein it tested putting downvotes on the comments section on a small number of public pages. Facebook's test on the downvote feature also came with options for users to mark the comment as misleading, insulting, or irrelevant. When proven, it would result in it being hidden by the Facebook team.
However, that was not made permanent as Facebook did not move forward with the testing. In comparison, Instagram allows its users to hide likes in its effort to foster a healthy social platform.
Furthermore, a similar platform, Reddit, has had the downvote feature since its launch in 2005.
If there's something we've learned about social media so far, that is its ability to either enrich or degrade conversations. Hopefully, we can improve conversations across social media through user feedback such as downvote and upvote buttons.
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