Yeah, they just turn into ‘agree’ or ‘disagree’ buttons. Personally I have fun with it though. Upvoting content around here feels like one of the ways to contribute to this place, so that people who spend their time posting here get the psychological boost to carry on and feel like they’re appreciated.

As long as it’s part of how things work around here, like it or not, those votes and the direction they go in are going to make people feel like they belong or don’t. Especially when they’re new. And taking away the grand total doesn’t change that either, it just obfuscates some of it. So I like to try and be a positive user here in that regard, personally.

Edit: Just because most other people are assholes when it comes to this, doesn’t mean that I have to.