> I, for one, love asking an honest-to-god question on a potentially contentious topic and then watching my score bounce up and down as folks ascribe intent to

> I, for one, love asking an honest-to-god question on a potentially contentious topic and then watching my score bounce up and down as folks ascribe intent to the question. Personally, I don't love that one bit [1], so if I'm asking a genuine question on contentious topic, where my actual intent is to get an answer from someone more knowledgable than me, I make sure to specify that intent, including professing my ignorance and disclaiming any preconceived notions. One might argue that I shouldn't have to do that, but that's sort of pointless. I'm happy to do whatever it takes to get an honest answer faster, such I might be able to participate more meaningfully in the thread. I've found HN threads to be very ephemeral (and the fact that it's still possible to reply after 2+ days, when there's no notification system, to be a bit bizarre). [1] Not because I care about karma but because my goal is to engage in conversation that gratifies intellectual curiosity, rather than attracting clicks on the up or down arrows.