If the prospect of losing 1 XP before one notices that they've cast a long string of down-votes is unacceptable to somebody, then they are a huge hypocrite for casting so many down-votes subtracting so much from the XP of other monk(s). So if losing XP is so abhorrent to somebody, then they need to stop imposing that terrible fate upon others. Period.

Huh? You're projecting one idea of some conjectured bad actor's motivation upon all instances of a behavior which exhibit the same pattern. If one is downvoting a user's nodes because one sincerely believes they're not good how the frak does that make one a hypocrite?

I downvote a lot of nodes because frankly there's not a lot of nodes recently that I (custodian of my votes, earned by me because of my body of work here which has proven useful enough to someone to garner my current status in the hierarchy) believe are worthy of upvotes.

I'm not doing it to take away XP (cackling menacingly (while of course twirling my handlebar mustache) at the undeserved XP woe I'm inflicting). I'm doing it because I think they're not good (whether because they show a lack of effort, they're poor or just plain wrong answers, or they're worthless drivel from somebody who has no business trying to code looking for a free ride).

I believe the stuff I downvote isn't of much worth; I believe the stuff I upvote is.

I believe the stuff I post is of some worth (be it technical or humorous in nature). The voting population however is free to agree with me or not, and vote accordingly as they see fit just as they have seen fit to do so in the past. One posts one's nodes, one takes one's chances.

The only way this could be hypocritical in some way would be if I downvoted nodes while expecting my own output to be protected from the same in return. I don't.

Having said that I also find it somewhat patronizing to be seemingly told that I can't be trusted to responsibly exercise my franchise according to my honest belief as to the the quality of content being created here, and that I need my nose whapped with the metaphorical newspaper of negative XP because I see fit to honestly express my views as to the (what I see as) dreck coming in.

Admission Against Interest:

Yes, I'm guilty of the "offense" in question here at least once. I did go back through and downvote most of Win's nodes when he became an obvious leech on the community; and yes, most of what I downvoted I felt deserved downvoting as well. I'll be sure immediately commence my penance by saying 9 "Hail Larry"s.