What's the difference between the front page and the classic view? I didn't know about this.

>I spend more of my downvotes on distracting reddit-style comments than on incorrect posts. Is my change in downvoting behavior contributing to the decline?

I don't think so. I can't downvote yet, but that's how I imagine I'll use the feature too. It warms my heart seeing most "reddit-style" (I'd argue some are twitter-style too) comments so heavily downvoted, as they are usually the exact opposite of thoughtful. It's nice to know, or at least feel like, there is a silent majority of users here that can stick to the rules even when a thread gets super divisive.