Sections
Concepts guidelines
Quick guidelines for how to identify and refer to different conceptual units present on Stack Overflow
Post scores
Section titled Post scores- Questions, answers, and other types of Posts have scores.
- A post’s score is calculated by subtracting the total number of downvotes from the total number of upvotes.
- In almost all cases when referring to the sum of votes, we will use the term score.
-
Use of the term votes to refer to the post’s score is only acceptable in cases where we need to present the data in the format
{ScoreValue} votes(as is done in the post summary component). In this case, "votes" stands in for the "balance of votes (up minus down)" on the post. - Upvote and downvote (one word, no hyphen) should be used when referring to the individual types of votes cast on a post.
- While the unit for score is obstensibly "points", use of this unit in reference to score or votes is not encouraged.
| Incorrect | Correct |
|---|---|
| Highest voted posts | Highest scored posts |
| Total number of votes for this answer | Total score for this answer |
| Only top voted answers are eligible | Only top scored answers are eligible |
| When in the Post Summary only: | |
| 8 score | 8 votes |
| Score: 8 | |
| 8 points | |
