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As someone that just stopped lurking, it's clear downvoting is used primarily as a "disagree" button. Case in point, this comment I'm replying to. I believe the
by vict7 5y ago
As someone that just stopped lurking, it's clear downvoting is used primarily as a "disagree" button. Case in point, this comment I'm replying to. I believe they're making a meaningful contribution to this discussion. Yet the downvotes have already commenced.
- kodah 5y agoTake a look at GP's previous comments and their contexts.
- dang 5y agoJust remember that that will only give the part of the story which is linked to that one username. Commenters who post grand narratives about why they were banned typically have a long string of past banned accounts. The giveaway is that they never link to them. That would let readers make up their own minds about why they'd gotten banned, and how accurate their story really is. https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&query=by%3Adang%20%22make%20up%20their%20own%20minds%22%20link&sort=byDate&type=story&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...
- kodah 5y agoOh for sure. In this case, just looking at their comments it's pretty clear why they've been banned.
- klyrs 5y agoThe person you're replying to is shadowbanned, and their post actually got vouched for, but still (I think) starts off at a deficit. Looking at your comment history, it looks like you enjoy wading into political conversations with strongly-held opinions. Food for thought, I'd have downvoted some of your comments that I agree with because they bring down the quality of the conversation.
- vict7 5y agoHey I truly appreciate the honesty! I can't easily assess the exact reason why I got downvotes without comments like this. Thanks for filling me in!
- cassepipe 5y agoNo the problem is that he makes accusations that are not backed up by any data and this is contrary to the guidelines. I consider myself more of a leftist than your typical hn user and when I have been abnormally downvoted I never felt it was because of my opinion but rather because I was too hot headed or too ignorant about what I was talking about. So I am very concerned by those claims but without any data about presumed tolerance to bigotry stuff, they are of no value too anyone. Anybody could feel sore and angry about how some social online gathering is not as X as he wish he was. Heck, that's my life on Reddit. Gimme data, gimme sources, I'll vote you up.
- vict7 5y agoI can definitely confess to being hot headed at times. I agree with you about the lack of data and will do my best to consider this going forward.