Opinions on the internet are always extremely distorted. It's not like a survey where you make a bunch of random people answer some questions. It's several cycles of selection bias and network effects. It's kinda bizarre, actually.
In general, most people are indifferent. They won't feel compelled to comment on it. Naturally, you only get comments by people who have a sufficiently strong opinion on that particular topic. If you now add voting to the mix, you emphasize this distortion even more.
Now, the reason why it works this way is because it makes it interesting to those who participate in these discussions. That's the primary goal: encouraging user interaction.
It does not paint an objective picture of the community's opinion.
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When I first saw that image about a year ago, I just thought he tried to create a distraction-free environment on a low budget.
I had no reason to comment on it.
If I had commented on it, my comment wouldn't have received many upvotes, because it wouldn't be aligned with this particular audience. That is, those who'd feel compelled to comment on this kind of picture.
In general, most people are indifferent. They won't feel compelled to comment on it. Naturally, you only get comments by people who have a sufficiently strong opinion on that particular topic. If you now add voting to the mix, you emphasize this distortion even more.
Now, the reason why it works this way is because it makes it interesting to those who participate in these discussions. That's the primary goal: encouraging user interaction.
It does not paint an objective picture of the community's opinion.
--
When I first saw that image about a year ago, I just thought he tried to create a distraction-free environment on a low budget.
I had no reason to comment on it.
If I had commented on it, my comment wouldn't have received many upvotes, because it wouldn't be aligned with this particular audience. That is, those who'd feel compelled to comment on this kind of picture.