Yes to all of it. pg decided years ago that if it was permissible to upvote for any reason, it was permissible to downvote for any reason. All that matters is that signal gets separated from noise - by any definition of noise - as aggressively as possible.
Also downvoting is preferred to replying because replies tend to either lead to arguments or else pollute the thread with uninteresting tangents.
In my experience, if you manage to get more than two downvotes and it persists, or you've been flagged, it's obvious why. Everything else tends to either be corrected or else settle at 0.
Also downvoting is preferred to replying because replies tend to either lead to arguments or else pollute the thread with uninteresting tangents.
In my experience, if you manage to get more than two downvotes and it persists, or you've been flagged, it's obvious why. Everything else tends to either be corrected or else settle at 0.