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I recently got downvoted on four posts within a span of three minutes. I have read that such patterns are identified and reversed. Does my case qualify? If the same downvotes were exercised over a prolonged period of time rather than a few minutes, would the system be able to identify it? PS: I do not discount the possibility of genuine disapproval over the quality of my posts, but it seemed odd to be doing so successively on past questions most of which are resolved.

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I don't think that the precise conditions of what counts as anomalous can or will be disclosed (for obvious reasons). However, here is a thread on meta.SO that gives some insight. FWIW: From a superficial glance I can't see a real problem with those posts that got downvoted, so I understand your puzzlement. – t.b. Oct 10 '11 at 12:49
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Serial downvotes don't have to be dishonest ones. I tend to look at other posts of people who pique my interest one way or another. Although this usually leads to serial upvotes, I can imagine cases where I would think that a person has made several posts that do not contribute. I am not very comfortable with a script distinguishing between reasonable and unreasonable serial downvotes. For example, there are interesting posts that do not really answer the question but provide further insight. It is totally in the eye of the reader whether this is off-topic or an improvement. – Phira Oct 12 '11 at 0:34

1 Answer

up vote 8 down vote accepted

Generally, we do not make public the process of detecting "anomalous voting patterns."

Give it some time (24 hours). The script that detects anomalous voting patterns runs periodically. If it detects a problem, the votes will be reversed. If, after a day or so, the votes remain, flag one for moderator attention and explain the problem.

Moderators cannot determine who placed individual votes, but they have access to reports that might help help determine if there is, potentially, anything unusual.

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Thank you. Very concise and helpful. – kuch nahi Oct 10 '11 at 19:49

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