Why do people ask for tech help and never upvote?
Technical contributors spend significant time troubleshooting issues for others who express verbal gratitude but fail to leave an upvote. This lack of digital recognition leaves helpers feeling unappreciated and discouraged, causing some to stop answering questions altogether.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- The most recent one is from September 2026.
- This comes up 95.6× more often in r/Wordpress than across the site as a whole.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Stop answering questionsDid this help you?
- 2Accepting that it is just normal internet behavior and ignore the lack of upvotesDid this help you?
- 3Focusing on the direct verbal thank-you replies instead of point metricsDid this help you?
- 4Stop helping unappreciative peopleDid this help you?
- 5Walk away from the situationDid this help you?
- 6Drinking coffee and enjoying quiet days when possibleDid this help you?
- 7Finding solidarity among fellow peers onlineDid this help you?
- 8Accepting that gifts are a bonus rather than a requirementDid this help you?
- 9Preferring that couples cover wedding expenses like hair and makeup instead of traditional giftsDid this help you?
- 10Focusing on personal handwritten notes from the couple rather than physical itemsDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Today I spent a decent chunk of time helping two different people troubleshoot their WordPress problems. Both were grateful, said the advice helped, and got their issues resolved — but neither upvoted any of my responses.”source ↗
“I just stopped answering questions, since people can't seem to figure out how Google works”source ↗
“I’ve noticed people don’t tend to upvote that often in tech related subreddits. It’s just the norm. At least you are getting thank you replies.”source ↗
“I answer hundreds of questions here, but don't get many up votes. That's OK though,. to be honest I don't do any of it for the upvotes really.”source ↗
“Feel appreciated because sometimes I think no one notices. LOL”source ↗
“I was upset when I was the moh and saw some of the bridesmaids get a separate gift and I didn’t even get a thank you card or a genuine thank you in general for all the things I did”source ↗
“I am still upset and can't believe he was so disrespectful and yelled at the top of his lungs at me for helping him.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 6Why does working extra hard just get you more work and less pay?
- 12Why do I feel guilty on slow work days?
- 4Why do I feel guilty for thinking my wedding was better than childbirth?
- 6Why do I feel like I wasted my vacation?
- 6Why is everyone at work so boring and uninspired?
- 3Why do I feel like a fraud studying accounting?