There are some exceptions¹ but I typically don’t downvote people for asking why the downvotes.

That’s because I think the downvote button is an awfully vague feedback channel; it informs you people saw something they don’t like in your post/comment, but never what they did. Sometimes you can take a good guess, but it’s at most a guess, not knowledge².

In fact I wish the downvote button was multiple buttons: like “this is wrong”, “this is bad”, “this is unfunny”, etc. For this reason; it simply works better as feedback. Slashdot has a similar-ish system, but for the positive votes instead.

But I get why people voice that feedback through a downvote button: it’s fast. And also because it’s pseudo-anonymous³, so the poster can voice their take without inserting themself into the discussion. But IMO that’s a flaw, not a feature.

If the question is being asked in a clearly disingenuous (assumptive, misleading, wishful believing, etc.) way, I’m going to downvote it. I’m not playing along “I don’t understand, I’m so confused…” tier babble.

Hell is paved with good intentions, and the tar going into that pavement is assumptions: confusing “I guess this” with “I know this”.

By “pseudo-anonymous” I mean who voted in what is broadcasted across the whole Fediverse, but you can’t access it directly without third party tools, that don’t work for some instances upon their admins’ requests.