> regardless what people say votes ARE being bot manipulated if you criticize the right power-posters My guess would be that downvotes like this happen occasio

> regardless what people say votes ARE being bot manipulated if you criticize the right power-posters My guess would be that downvotes like this happen occasionally, but there is no formal list, and no automated system involved. I also doubt it's officially or unofficially approved of by the site. What makes you think this is done systematically by "bots", rather than case-by-base by individuals loyal to the person that was criticized? > I would not be surprised if some of these 'power posters' have been given light moderation privileges. Dan has indeed confirmed that some users have "light moderation privileges": https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31240711 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31240711. He mentions "longstanding HN users", which probably has some overlap with "power posters".