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The question's only twelve minutes old, it's the user's sort of maiden voyage here, and it's already got a negative three. That is not welcoming. It looks like the user might not be a native English speaker, but the question was written in English, and was readable. There's never really a good reason to take a question past, say, -1 - why do it to a brand new user? You don't have to upvote it.

There were three comments - one from some user here, and the next two from this user saying polite things - thanking us.

It's just not nice. Please?

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    blog.stackoverflow.com/2010/10/vote-early-vote-often and meta.stackoverflow.com/questions/252506/… Commented Dec 6, 2015 at 2:46
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    @Braiam - do you see any close votes in the picture? is there anything in that comment you linked to about voting to negative three (which i rather think is kind or hilarious, and appreciated). come on... the guys got 1 xp and hes already devoured. that sucks. Commented Dec 6, 2015 at 3:35
  • @Braiam - i took another picture Commented Dec 6, 2015 at 3:40
  • Downvotes on questions don't cost rep, for a very good reason, and why close votes = downvotes? A question can be badly asked but being on topic. Commented Dec 6, 2015 at 4:05
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    @Braiam - im not saying dont downvote - i would never ever say that, im just saying dont downvote the ten minute-old user to negative three within the first ten minutes. Commented Dec 6, 2015 at 4:25
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    whoever upvoted the comment - thanks for not upvoting the question. the -3 forever-mirror thing looks cool Commented Dec 6, 2015 at 19:16
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    dammit!​​​​​​​​ Commented Dec 6, 2015 at 22:47
  • You should have linked the post, so that we can build our own judgement, but you eliminated every useful information (except the tags, but they don't help me, finding the post). Commented Dec 8, 2015 at 18:12
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    @userunknown - that was the point! i didnt want anybody pointing fingers or any such nonsense. you can say i made it up if you like, and you're welcome to disregard me as confused or stupid or any of those things because i dont offer anything here but my opinions - and youre equally entitled to those as well. but i asked please. anyway it wasnt intended as admonishment or a problem that required consideration or judgement - its just a request. Commented Dec 8, 2015 at 18:23
  • @mikeserv: I've seen similar suggestions about newbies posts, but examining the profile of the user showed, that he was new in that particular section, but a long time user of SO. So I can't see it that is the case here, too or not. Commented Dec 9, 2015 at 0:36
  • @userunknown - well, ok fine. it probably doesnt matter as much now as it did then - its not as fresh. there are a few links to membership profiles of other network sites in the user's profile page, but all are 1 rep and the oldest is too months. Commented Dec 9, 2015 at 0:51
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    mikeserv, downvoted to make your wish come true. Happy :) Commented Dec 10, 2015 at 22:23

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I frankly think that regarding the score of your question as a true index of its reception by the community is a good mindset for users, but it's the result of time spent using the site. It's not something that a first-time poster will necessarily do automatically.

Consider the inverse: would a first-time poster feel "welcomed" if he received three upvotes but no answers and no comments for a week? (I think not.)

I believe "vote early, vote often" is the best approach, combined with a conditional "Add a helpful/welcoming comment if you can (assuming you can't just answer)."

The point is really: We welcome the new user, but only to the degree that they contribute and abide by the guidelines/rules. We don't welcome everyone and anyone who wants to ask about anything without even reading the tour page or doing any research. Otherwise we wouldn't have a community at all. So we express through voting what questions we think should be validated and what should not be. Applying a different standard to new users would be a version of "voting for the user instead of the content", which is frowned upon heavily.

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    i dont think its all that frowned upon. and anyway, i never suggested the user not be downvoted - only that new users not be downvoted to -3 in 10 minutes time. -3 is unusual in the first place - pretty much any question ought to be given a half-hour to brew at least, i think. people edit stuff. and leaving a comment for a new user and later checking on it before clicking the button isn't all that bad an idea. Commented Dec 18, 2015 at 8:41

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