> In HN, insubstantial comments are downvoted, irrespective of politeness or reasonable disclaimers. That is undoubtedly true. It may even be consistent with o

> In HN, insubstantial comments are downvoted, irrespective of politeness or reasonable disclaimers. That is undoubtedly true. It may even be consistent with official site guidelines (which I don't think make any claim to be perfect - "perfect is the opposite of good" as they say). Might this also be true: "In HN, comments are sometimes downvoted, irrespective of whether the comment is insubstantial, off-topic, or incorrect. The reasons behind this are incredibly complex."