Have you looked at any tutorials on ifixit?

I think 10 years ago that is what is did actually mean, and it’s what it’s supposed to mean. But in the last 4-5 years there has been a shift as Reddit got more popular and as they changed how upvotes and downvotes actually affect comments.

With so many more people joining the site, the opinions got a lot more diverse and vehement. People hitting the downvote button got a lot more prevalent. This doesn’t mean that upvotes weren’t happening as well(I’ve seen posts that had one of the bottom comments rise all the way to the top after new information comes out or the video hits all).

So, anyways I think you are right and that’s what it was supposed to mean, but it has changed meaning for the most part I think. And I think there has been a lot more assholes on the other site anyways, so it was definitely being used on/by them.

That’s not really a great comparison. Downvoting is a way to say you disagree with someone without getting into an argument. And if I think of my personal experience, most of the posts/comments I would downvote on Reddit are about things that there is no point getting into an argument about.