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First, here is what the documentation says about downvotes:

When should I vote down?

 

Use your downvotes whenever you encounter an egregiously sloppy, no-effort-expended post, or an answer that is clearly and perhaps dangerously incorrect.

What does that mean with respect to duplicate questions? Each user will evaluate this a little differently, but here are some considerations I apply when voting:

• Is the duplicate so close that it would have popped up in the first few entries on the "suggested duplicates" list you get when asking a question? This can suggest a lack of effort.

• Is the duplicate phrased differently enough that you would have had to know there was a dupe, or do an exhaustive search, to find out before asking? This can act as a useful signpost for people coming from search engines; people may ask the same question in many different ways.

• Is the new question asked really well while the older one is not? This could be a candidate for a merge, bringing a well-asked, findable question together with the existing answers.

• Does the question indicate somehow that the author did try to search first? Not everybody is skilled with searching and Stack Exchange search can be a little iffy sometimes.

• Does the question acknowledge the other question and explain why the author thinks this question is different? (Even if he's not right about that, did he try?)

First, here is what the documentation says about downvotes:

When should I vote down?

Use your downvotes whenever you encounter an egregiously sloppy, no-effort-expended post, or an answer that is clearly and perhaps dangerously incorrect.

What does that mean with respect to duplicate questions? Each user will evaluate this a little differently, but here are some considerations I apply when voting:

• Is the duplicate so close that it would have popped up in the first few entries on the "suggested duplicates" list you get when asking a question? This can suggest a lack of effort.

• Is the duplicate phrased differently enough that you would have had to know there was a dupe, or do an exhaustive search, to find out before asking? This can act as a useful signpost for people coming from search engines; people may ask the same question in many different ways.

• Is the new question asked really well while the older one is not? This could be a candidate for a merge, bringing a well-asked, findable question together with the existing answers.

• Does the question indicate somehow that the author did try to search first? Not everybody is skilled with searching and Stack Exchange search can be a little iffy sometimes.

• Does the question acknowledge the other question and explain why the author thinks this question is different? (Even if he's not right about that, did he try?)

First, here is what the documentation says about downvotes:

When should I vote down?

Use your downvotes whenever you encounter an egregiously sloppy, no-effort-expended post, or an answer that is clearly and perhaps dangerously incorrect.

What does that mean with respect to duplicate questions? Each user will evaluate this a little differently, but here are some considerations I apply when voting:

• Is the duplicate so close that it would have popped up in the first few entries on the "suggested duplicates" list you get when asking a question? This can suggest a lack of effort.

• Is the duplicate phrased differently enough that you would have had to know there was a dupe, or do an exhaustive search, to find out before asking? This can act as a useful signpost for people coming from search engines; people may ask the same question in many different ways.

• Is the new question asked really well while the older one is not? This could be a candidate for a merge, bringing a well-asked, findable question together with the existing answers.

• Does the question indicate somehow that the author did try to search first? Not everybody is skilled with searching and Stack Exchange search can be a little iffy sometimes.

• Does the question acknowledge the other question and explain why the author thinks this question is different? (Even if he's not right about that, did he try?)

First, here is what the documentation says about downvotes:

When should I vote down?

Use your downvotes whenever you encounter an egregiously sloppy, no-effort-expended post, or an answer that is clearly and perhaps dangerously incorrect.

What does that mean with respect to duplicate questions? Each user will evaluate this a little differently, but here are some considerations I apply when voting:

• Is the duplicate so close that it would have popped up in the first few entries on the "suggested duplicates" list you get when asking a question? This can suggest a lack of effort.

• Is the duplicate phrased differently enough that you would have had to know there was a dupe, or do an exhaustive search, to find out before asking? This can act as a useful signpost for people coming from search engines; people may ask the same question in many different ways.

• Is the new question asked really well while the older one is not? This could be a candidate for a merge, bringing a well-asked, findable question together with the existing answers.

• Does the question indicate somehow that the author did try to search first? Not everybody is skilled with searching and Stack Exchange search can be a little iffy sometimes.

• Does the question acknowledge the other question and explain why the author thinks this question is different? (Even if he's not right about that, did he try?)

Your votes are yours to do with as you choose, so the answer to "is it ok?" is "that's up to you". But here are some considerations I apply when voting:

• Is the duplicate so close that it would have popped up in the first few entries on the "suggested duplicates" list you get when asking a question? This can suggest a lack of effort.

• Is the duplicate phrased differently enough that you would have had to know there was a dupe, or do an exhaustive search, to find out before asking? This can act as a useful signpost for people coming from search engines; people may ask the same question in many different ways.

• Is the new question asked really well while the older one is not? This could be a candidate for a merge, bringing a well-asked, findable question together with the existing answers.

• Does the question indicate somehow that the author did try to search first? Not everybody is skilled with searching and Stack Exchange search can be a little iffy sometimes.

• Does the question acknowledge the other question and explain why the author thinks this question is different? (Even if he's not right about that, did he try?)

First, here is what the documentation says about downvotes:

When should I vote down?

Use your downvotes whenever you encounter an egregiously sloppy, no-effort-expended post, or an answer that is clearly and perhaps dangerously incorrect.

What does that mean with respect to duplicate questions? Each user will evaluate this a little differently, but here are some considerations I apply when voting:

• Is the duplicate so close that it would have popped up in the first few entries on the "suggested duplicates" list you get when asking a question? This can suggest a lack of effort.

• Is the duplicate phrased differently enough that you would have had to know there was a dupe, or do an exhaustive search, to find out before asking? This can act as a useful signpost for people coming from search engines; people may ask the same question in many different ways.

• Is the new question asked really well while the older one is not? This could be a candidate for a merge, bringing a well-asked, findable question together with the existing answers.

• Does the question indicate somehow that the author did try to search first? Not everybody is skilled with searching and Stack Exchange search can be a little iffy sometimes.

• Does the question acknowledge the other question and explain why the author thinks this question is different? (Even if he's not right about that, did he try?)