Strange.

A little while back I rated a thread here two stars, not because I disagreed with it, but because what I had thought would be some sort of discussion of a news article turned instead into a bunch of people ranting and raving and basically patting each other on the back as they all agreed on a particular subject. I can't go into more detail without giving away the thread itself, but I had kind of hoped that there would be some actual civilized discussion/debate of the topic at hand, which is a very heated topic. But it was just a big lynch mob, and very saddening to read. I didn't comment because I knew anything I said could be misconstrued (thus proving my point), and just rated it a two. I purposefully avoided a followup post by the same person because I felt it would be exactly the same and I didn't want to appear like I was "stalking" to give bad ratings (something that happened to me on a different site in the past).

Today I see what appears to be the very same thread I rated and there is still just one rating on it, BUT, it is five stars. Meaning that either my rating was deleted and someone else's was added, or else mine was changed. I lean toward the former, truthfully. But either way it seems terribly unethical. Why should my rating count less because I disagreed? Doesn't that rather nullify the whole point of rating?

If there's some sort of site rule against voting on threads without commenting then I guess I understand. But I wasn't aware of this, and either way, like I said, whatever happened to my rating seems terribly unfair. I didn't speak up to explain my rating as I didn't really feel inclined to invite the wrath of the lynch mob. Been there before, done that. Not worth the trouble. I thought one rating and then letting it go would suffice, but now that my rating is apparently gone (I can't be 100% sure, but it seems that way to me), it seems I'm not allowed that opinion.

This makes me rather leery of remaining on an otherwise decent site.

Not that I think anyone will notice this post, but I won't be replying to any comments on it. I'm tired of dealing with other people's drama; I have my opinions and I stick by them. Just like the people in that thread. The only difference is, apparently they're allowed their opinion and I'm not.