Why do you, personally, voice negative opinions or leave negative comments online?

You seem to say it as if being negative is the goal. I don't set out to leave a negative opinion, I just want to give my opinion. Sometimes, my opinion is negative. That's just as valid as if my opinion was positive.

I think you're over thinking it, frankly. In an ordinary discourse, sometimes 'negative' points will arise, and if you aren't specifically averse to addressing such points then there's no specific reason to avoid it.

Essentially, there are a great many people who don't even consider such issues the same way that you do.

This needs to be pinned as part of the mod rules. Criticism is not personal attack but the idea that it is infests Lemmy to its detriment
- Not just Lemmy, but discourse overall, anymore.

https://xkcd.com/386/

If someone is asking for opinions or there's a general discussion then surely negative opinions are just as valid as positive ones

Probably mostly to warn others. Sometimes to point out information I believe is wrong. Mostly I'm trying to keep the ship on course.

That is (and I'm really not joking) actually an altruistic motivation.

Good people give bad news.
Just realize that crossing the line is when you become pedantic. No one likes that, especially when it’s obvious what someone meant. Took me a while to realize that and then stop.
- Always. If you aren't communicating with the intent to exchange meaning you're communicating in bad faith.

What do you mean by negative? In the sense that the response is insulting, or a personal attack? Generally, well adjusted people on forums websites try to avoid those, those who don't are just assholes.

But if you mean negative as in the reply merely disagrees with your point of view, then isn't that the point of a forums website? Short of echochambers, memes, and porn, the biggest thing on forums is two way discussions. You post a question, maybe with an idea of how people might respond, and you could get a varying degree of different responses. Some of which may offer fresh insights that you may not have had the perspective for before. Do you consider the responses in this thread to be negative?

I really hate begged questions. You know the thing: "Why do Americans buy groceries at Walmart?" The premise is wrong, and needs to be corrected to get an accurate and representative answer. "Most Americans buy groceries at dedicated grocery stores. I never shop at Walmart at all."

Or: "Who's your favorite character in Final Fantasy 7?" "I don't have one, I tried FF7 but couldn't get into it." followed by OP saying some bullshit like "Then I wasn't asking you."

A clear sign someone's looking for confirmation, not understanding.

I very much dislike being negative on-line. I think we could all stand to be more empathetic and humble in our approach to others. In my on-line gaming, I almost exclusively am positive. The rare times I turn negative, is when someone starts being mean to someone. Flaming, blaming, or just posting vile stuff. THAT, I take exception to. Bullies only understand one thing, and it's their own medicine. I'm all positivity until you post something racist, sexist, or generally vile, then I'm coming at you both guns a'blazing.

Well I dislike being positive or faking that everything's okay just to not upset people
- those are two different things. When things are bad, it's our duty to address it, lest it become worse. But you can be positive even in the face of a crisis. There are times in my life in which I felt like my world was crumbling before my eyes, and with the benefit of hindsight, I now view those circumstances differently. Sometimes hard changes need to be made, and you can come out the other side stronger and more resilient for having survived it; often times in a better place than you were before (whether that's physically, mentally, emotionally). Then, with those lessons learned, the next moment you feel like the sky is falling, you can remind yourself that you've been through bad before, and sometimes a new perspective is the only thing standing between you and acceptance/peace.
  
  Also, if you're having to avoid talking about things because it upsets people, then try to find a new avenue for who you speak that to. I recommend therapy, where the attention and purpose is you and your feelings. Having someone listen, and help you through difficult times/emotions, is an invaluable resource, that I hope you're fortunate enough to be able to take advantage of.

Two reasons:

I value frankness above tact, discourse (what is said) over tone (how it's said).
I have little to no tolerance towards some types of irrationality and bullshit, and I enjoy calling them out.

I like complaining

I ain't complaining

its just part of the conversation. If all these communities were just rah rah, preach to the choir, I would likely stop participating. I am in no way saying all comments should be negative or such but I expect discourse and different points of view. Positive or negative I prefer the comments and posts to be as thoughtful and informative as possible.

Depends on how you take the situation. I'd say on one side I hope to warn others with my cautionary tale. I also feel understood when I see others reply they shared my pain through similar experiences after reading mine, so I guess you can call that cathartic? Not sure. It also helps me calibrate myself socially, as I can measure how much others agree or disagree with my hate of whatever.

Some users need to be told to STFU. Yes, I also block many. But, still want my say.

Depends what counts as a negative comment. I tend to swim upstream so the things I say often aren't popular but I only say what I believe to be true. Why people who for example don't like Elon Musk, keep posting about him and then circlejerking with all the other haters is beyond me.

Because I'm a negative nancy

It really depends on the matter at hand. I think sometimes it feels cathartic, other times it's just questionable rambling because I feel like getting it off my chest.

Blowing off steam.

Lovely, warm, childhood trauma steam.

If there’s a post already complaining about something I may join in on it, because who doesn’t love a good complain?

If someone is posting positive things about something they like I try to avoid being overly or only negative about it. The internet is too big for me to go around bothering everyone with conflicting tastes to mine.

Screaming into the void is cathartic, and sometimes is the only thing that keeps you somewhat sane.

Because if I only wanted to be positive, I'd be on LinkedIn.

I will forever bash Sonic 06 for being a bad game because I want things to be good.

Calls 'em as i see 'em

This is a terrible post just because it is!

/s ;)

It probably started from browsing reddit and seeing the site change into every comment section being a predictable mono culture. I could read the thread header and know exactly what the first few pages of comments would be like. This is mostly because anyone who disagrees gets downvoted and no one sees the comment.

If i agreed with the post then it felt like there was no reason to add another comment to the sea of agreement. So I ended up with most of my comments being negative or disagreeing except in the smaller communities.

Then I started getting banned for comments that were unreasonably tame which pissed me off and then I started commenting with the intention of dragging people into endlessly dumb arguments where I would try get them to say something that would get then banned.

Lemmy doesn't have this issue of comments being buried and there is no incentive not to get downvoted so I feel like I can post normally here with minimal trolling.

I think that it is healthy for a discussion or an argument to have both positive and negative points of view. I also will voice my opinion regardless of the standpoint of the initial question.

However, this also depends on the context. I won't go into each thread and post something negative just because I don't like the post or thread. But if someone is asking for an opinion then they should expect that the opinion of others might not be positive or align with their own opinion at all.

I always hate to see those "yes" posts in which every criticism is being downvoted or "banned" but I also hate to see those rants/vent posts just for the circlejerk of hate or negativity.

If we don't discuss the bad things in society, how can we ever hope to fix them?

I don't understand the question. I just leave my opinion, be it positive or negative.

Maybe to commiserate. It's liberating to feel like you're not alone with a certain problem, especially when you seem to be in real life. As long as ppl. dont drift off into excessive groupthink or push each other further into enragement it can be healthy to vent from time to time. Sometimes u just need to rant a little.

I try not to be an asshole and I just like sharing my opinion. I just like to bitch about the general state of affairs for various things. Be it video games or politics, I'll bitch about anything I find to be awful. I think I do it because I want to try and help people understand why a situation is fucked up or shouldn't be happening. For example how so many video game companies are just laying off all their employees for whatever reason they want to give you. I just like to call out bullshit when I see it. Sometimes I come off as rude when really I'm just mad that it's happening and not really bitching about the users making the posts or comments but more towards the bullshit situations.

And I like "colorful" words.

Are you looking for people who consistently and exclusively write negative comments on all platforms at all times?

I typically don't unless I stumble across something particularly imflamatory

If I hate something I see online I will say it and nobody should stop me. That's it. There's no science behind it.

Thanks all! I appreciate everyone who answered, especially those who provided a meaningful or nuanced response.

I framed my question in a specific way for a specific reason and got very useful insight about the vibe here, including how people interpreted the question.

After a certain point, you begin to realize that some people just can't be helped. It comes from a place of fatigue.

I'm a negative person. IRL and online. In certain circles I'm considered very positive. Usually I'm faking niceties for convenience or other reasons, but other times I do actually think of the current situation or subject matter positively. This latter situation is somewhat rare though.

Here on Lemmy, I have my share of haters, mainly because I'm an agnostic, antinatalist, anarchist, antifascist. I can also get pretty misanthropic at times, and while I can indeed shut the fuck up, I sometimes don't, and I can go oooonnnnn, sometimes pissing people off for my lack of brevity and conciseness, like with this very post.

Generally speaking, I think being negative often lines up with the reality we live in. Sure there are small things to be positive about, but overall the situation for humanity as a whole is currently pretty bleak, and a lot of the control mechanisms by which positive change can be enacted is in the hands of a select few of the rich and powerful.

The reason people post and oftentimes like negative posts, comments, discourse, etc. is because it validates and confirms their negative perspectives that oftentimes would cause them to be ostracized if they expressed them in other circles. I know that's why I express many of my more controversial opinions here, and why I like to read various posts here on Lemmy daily. Most people here keep it real. And reality isn't pretty right now, but at least I know I'm not the only one who sees it that way.

I believe I have some kind of teacher syndrome.

If I know something I think it's good to share my thoughts about it to other people with the objective of creating a debate which could lead to get more information and a better conclusion for both of the parties.

I must admit sometimes I just enjoy trolling and mocking dumb people, but usually I like to help other people.