As the question says, is there a way to ensure that a user/users are not targeting you for downvotes?
Failing that, what system exists to ensure that this does not happen?
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Answer is yes. See this metapost– AegonCommented Jul 2, 2016 at 10:28
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@Aegon, thanks for the link, so how do I get a mod to look at this?– KyloRenCommented Jul 2, 2016 at 10:32
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Click on contact us button and provide explanation of your problem. But that should only be done if script does not recover your lost rep itself. Give it a graceperiod of 24 hours before contacting the mods– AegonCommented Jul 2, 2016 at 10:32
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@Aegon, just saw your answer. BTW, love the user name!– KyloRenCommented Jul 2, 2016 at 10:33
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2I've been the target of serial downvoting on at least a half-dozen occasions and sockpuppet serial downvoting on at least two notable occasions. The simple answer is that the automated systems really only deal with short-term high volume downvoting, typically by reversing the downvotes. The systems that are in place for the site's moderators to see that long-term downvoting is taking place are shockingly poor, given that they can't see individual downvotes.– ValorumCommented Jul 2, 2016 at 13:29
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3Is this distrust based on anything other than the response to your last GoT question? It is possible to ask a question people dislike without being targeted by serial downvoting– kuhlCommented Jul 2, 2016 at 14:40
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Yes, moderators have tools to check for both serial downvoting and serial upvoting. SE employees have even more such tools. As already mentioned, there's also an automatic algorithm which detects and reverses serial voting. None of these are perfect, of course, though I can't reveal the details of how any of them actually works. However, I can reassure you that there doesn't seem to be anyone serially downvoting you.– Rand al'Thor ModCommented Jul 2, 2016 at 15:49
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1Pro tips: Shorter questions. Fewer self-answers. Less duplication between Q and A.– Wad CheberCommented Jul 4, 2016 at 1:52
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You’ll never stop us ;)– Paul D. WaiteCommented Jul 4, 2016 at 22:13
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2 Answers
While there's always the possibility that you've been very cleverly targeted, a look at your recent Q+A would strongly suggest that you're not being targeted at all.
You've had 27 downvotes in the last 30 days, which certainly seems an unusually high number until you start to break things down:
4 came from this off-topic (and now closed) question
https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/129204/any-canonical-reason-as-to-why-valorum-did-this
8 came from this self-answered (and now closed) question and answer set
https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/132681/can-we-use-turbo-boost-to-jump-a-car/132682#132682
4 came from this self-answered question about accents
Why does everyone in Game Of Thrones have a British accent?
6 came from this poorly received question about a prop on GoT
Who sent Ser Barristan the pardon for Jorah Mormont?
Of the remaining 5 downvotes, the remainder are single downvotes on questions that have been quite poorly received in terms of the ratio between question visitors and upvoters.
None of the downvotes you've received this month seem in any way remarkable once you accept that self-answered questions invariably attract at least one or two downvotes.
There is already a system to detect malicious voting patterns and correct the reputation accordingly.
If someone serial up-votes and down-votes your answers/questions, you have to wait for at least 24 hours. When the script is run, your reputation will be corrected to pre-malicious-voting level.
Read this page for help.
Quoting from the same page:
When a single user continually votes (up or down) on many of your posts within a short period of time, the system considers these votes to be invalid and removes them.
What to do when you think you are victim of serial voting?
If you see very unusual votes being targeted at your account, don't worry about it. You should wait at least 24 hours after noticing before becoming concerned, as the automated system should detect it and reverse it for you. If, after 24 hours, you do not see any fix to your reputation, please contact the team using the "contact us" form located at the bottom of any page.
Also see: What can I do about revenge downvotes?
What happens to the perpetrator(s):
If such a voting pattern continues to happen between two users mutually or from one user towards another, or otherwise falls outside of normal voting patterns, moderators and/or developers may investigate the matter; intentionally voting merely to reduce or inflate another user's reputation is considered abuse.
The exact nature and rules of the reversal script are kept in secret to avoid potential abusers from finding work-arounds. Relax, your reputation will be back by tomorrow.
Also See: What is serial voting and how does it affect me?. Also relevant, Stackoverflow Blog post titled "Voting Fraud and you" by Jeff Atwood.
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