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Ask HN: Gang downvotes?
It seems a common tactic lately for people who disagree on a certain topic to go ahead and downvote indiscriminately all other posts by the disliked user as far back as they are able.
I don't really give a shit, given that these are just Internet points, but it seems against the spirit of HN as I know it. I would happily downvote people saying dumb shit, while simultaneously upvoting their relevant posts
- smt88 10y ago1) I'm guessing this happened to you, which is why you brought it up. 2) You do "give a shit," or you wouldn't have posted this. I think it's normal to care when people downvote your comments, which is why votes work in the first place. Most of us probably care, as silly as it is. 3) Looking back through your votes, you don't seem to have been heavily downvoted except for saying the minimum wage has reached absurd levels (which is false, if you adjust for inflation) and that gun violence is higher in places with stricter laws (by mentioning which, you seem to have gotten cause/effect mixed up -- places with more gun violence have strengthened their laws as a reaction). I think that the combination of your username and saying demonstrably false things has caused the behavior of going through your history and downvoting you. Some people don't want you here. I would say being strictly factual and somewhat tribal is very much in the spirit of HN (for better or worse).
- dozzie 10y agoBut I think he may be right, at least about being downvoted indiscriminately. I feel targeted by an action like that for several weeks. It's irritating and tiring, as usual comments that half a year ago wouldn't warrant a downvote trigger one now. Though in my case it doesn't seem to be a group, just one individual.
- smt88 10y agoSame thing happened to me once (an individual). Nothing you can do about it, I guess. This isn't Reddit where you can just find a new sub.