Not having downmods lets new stories have a better chance of survival. Reddit started going downhill when they failed to control downvoting. Stories posted from

Not having downmods lets new stories have a better chance of survival. Reddit started going downhill when they failed to control downvoting. Stories posted from outside the American time zones are especially vulnerable, since a couple of downmods can push them into oblivion. I think PG made a very wise choice in not having downmods. More importantly it poisons the atmosphere. Reddit in the first few months was just plain incredible, much better than even the current hacker news.