Tbh I kind of understand the usefulness of it but at the same time there's a serious risk of unnecessary toxicity resulting in a down vote button being abused.
Yeah, if I recall correctly, there actually was a time (2011ish?) when there was a Thumbs Down option on these very boards. It was an ugly thing, used to bully and harass. Probably why it was removed in the first place.
People still do that, so giving them this option would be a mistake. If our community was friendly-type, I'm sure it would be okay.
I have found that most people just troll and upset each other with the thumbs down. Since we don't currently have functionality attached (like sorting, etc.), I don't think it serves a purpose.
I don't think gaming forum like these is a place where nuanced discussions can flourish so just having thumbs up for funsies is fine. On the other hand, seeing posts with bad opinions (or spelling!) getting likes can be irritating on its own.
I tend to go back and look at the thread view count and the likes to see which posts are getting absolutely ratio'd. I think people are entirely too validating online for some really dumb ideas. They need some grounding in reality. LOL
I hate how sensitive people are these days about everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, sometimes I get sick of how careful we are supposed to be choosing every single freaking word, I can imagine people crying about few thumbs downs for weeks...