2016 starts with a new feature.

We can now upvote and downvote comments here in AFF.

A verified email account is the only requirement for us to use this feature. If you haven't done it already, simply click the settings (gear) icon in the right side of the top bar or in your Profile page, hover over Profile and choose Update Profile from the menu.

You'll immediately see the word Email.

(my email add is already verified)

Your's would have an email add and the following next to it:

 Click the link.

Now, if you see your username below it and not an email address, click Change account recovery email.

And then just fill in the first blank with your email address and in the blank for password, type your AFF password. Click Set Recovery Email.

Check your email inbox (or spam; mine was in the inbox folder) and then just click on the verification link AFF sent you. And you're done!

Now you can start upvoting (or downvoting) comments. Just click on the up or down arrows next to the username. If you hover over the number of points, you'll see how many upvotes and downvotes a comment has. 

Just give this feature a try. See how it goes. Don't shut it down immediately. 

If it works, good. If it doesn't, Boss Nichi will take it down. Boss and the mods have a reason for adding it. It took years before they gave this suggestion a try. 

What's the worst that could happen?

I mean, do we get banned if we get downvotes or if our reputation is negative? 

It's just a number. And if our negative rep gets the mods attention, surely they could review our comments.

Not everyone will agree with our opinions. We'll get downvotes. But there would be others that would agree with us too.  

Maybe it's just me... that person who loves commenting on YT and kpop articles.

(Oh goodness. I remember those days I got into crazy discussions in allkpop. Pft. Then I moved to Netizenbuzz, which was okay at first too... I got downvoted too. Those were the days. I stopped visiting those sites because of trolls. allkpop is a troll lol)

It builds character. Confidence. To speak your mind and stand by it. English is not my native language so I had to edit several times because I found out the hard way that people would take offense even when I didn't mean it to turn out that way. 

My rule is this, if I'm going to start with, "Not trying to be mean or rude, but..." Then I have to pause and try to compose another comment. We can point something out without making the other person feel like he/she is being attacked. Giraffehugger unnie calls it the sandwich method. Don't just highlight the bad, provide good points too. Start with a compliment, then the critique, then end with a compliment.

But then again, if a person took offense, even after I worded my comment carefully, well then... it's no longer on me. I could only do so much. I can't control what others would think or feel but I could control my thoughts, my words...

I am still learning not to get misunderstood. But I won't learn if I don't try right? 

Be silent, if you don't have anything to say or contribute.

(I am always on silent mode when it comes to my mom which irritates my sister. She told me so last night. Wahaha. She said that I'm so much like our dad. But see, if I say something, my mom would definitely take offense and there would be no stopping her words. It would go ratatatatatat. So that's an example when I'd choose to be silent.)

But if you have something to say, by all means, comment. Don't let others opinion of you limit you. 

There's a high possibility of AFFers downvoting your comment for no reason. And readers just voting up comments and not commenting at all. 

But maybe there would be users who would see the merit of your comment and upvote it. Or if they see a comment with negative score which in their opinion is unjustly given, they would upvote it. 

And maybe readers would comment to get a high rep score, to get likes/upvotes. I see comments in YT with so many upvotes/likes. It inspires creativity. HAHA.

Every feature demands that every user be responsible and accountable. 

Don't let the trolls in this site ruin what could be a cool and useful feature. 

We're a community after all. A large one. We don't have to agree every time but we could at least try to make things work.