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Ask HN: After what karma can I downvote?

6 points by alecsmart1 13y ago

Are there any other features linked to the karma I have? Any page which lists them all?

hardwaresofton 13y ago
300 is supposedly the point at which you can downvote... I'm at 299 and I have no idea
- mschuster91 13y ago
  It is 500 (exclusive), so the downvote button appears once you have 501 or more points.
sejje 13y ago
I've read it's relative to the amount of total karma in existence. It's not 300, as said in another comment, because I'm over 400 and cannot downvote.
- OafTobark 13y ago
  That's incorrect. It's when you're over 500.
MattBearman 13y ago
It was 500 hundred when I got the ability, but that was a while back so it could have gone up since then.
- alecsmart1 13y ago
  I guess I have a while to go. What about editing etc.
ballard 13y ago
Editing titles seems like another level. What other levels are there?
brudgers 13y ago
Other than downvoting and flagging, HN does not provide users with editorial powers. While there are moderators who can edit headlines, they are selected by Y-Combinator [the company]. The amount of gamification is minimal and has actually been reduced in the last couple of years when individual comment scores were hidden from public view. This is because, unlike Reddit, HN is not the end product. It is a marketing tool for Y-Combinator [the program], and to some degree a data stream useful for evaluating and filtering some of the applications into it. To put it into perspective, historically, PG has been very much hands on to the point of rebooting the server, troubleshooting errors, and, of course, writing the code. Let karma be its own reward, and to the degree you choose to pursue it let it drive you toward better writing things of interest to hackers.
Casseres 13y ago
I'm at 153, and I do not have downvote privileges. The problem is while I do read a lot of HN and actively upvote when it's appropriate, I do not comment much. I suppose I just have to wait to find an awesomely relevant article and post to get upvotes that way. Though to me, it doesn't matter much to downvote. I would like to occasionally when I see inappropriate comments, but I just usually flag inappropriate submissions.
- brudgers 13y ago
  There are many good writers on HN, but the only great submitter that comes to mind is Colinwright, and his eye for articles is probably a byproduct of the fact that he can also author interesting content. One of the great opportunities HN provides is to write something and use the feedback [which may be no upvotes or downvotes] to improve your writing. HN is a great place to learn timing, tone, and how to tailor your message to an audience of readers. The path to higher karma which depends least on luck is posting thoughtful comments.

6 points by alecsmart1 13y ago

Are there any other features linked to the karma I have? Any page which lists them all?

hardwaresofton 13y ago

300 is supposedly the point at which you can downvote... I'm at 299 and I have no idea

mschuster91 13y ago
It is 500 (exclusive), so the downvote button appears once you have 501 or more points.

sejje 13y ago

I've read it's relative to the amount of total karma in existence. It's not 300, as said in another comment, because I'm over 400 and cannot downvote.

OafTobark 13y ago
That's incorrect. It's when you're over 500.

MattBearman 13y ago

It was 500 hundred when I got the ability, but that was a while back so it could have gone up since then.

alecsmart1 13y ago
I guess I have a while to go. What about editing etc.

ballard 13y ago

Editing titles seems like another level. What other levels are there?

brudgers 13y ago

Other than downvoting and flagging, HN does not provide users with editorial powers. While there are moderators who can edit headlines, they are selected by Y-Combinator [the company]. The amount of gamification is minimal and has actually been reduced in the last couple of years when individual comment scores were hidden from public view. This is because, unlike Reddit, HN is not the end product. It is a marketing tool for Y-Combinator [the program], and to some degree a data stream useful for evaluating and filtering some of the applications into it. To put it into perspective, historically, PG has been very much hands on to the point of rebooting the server, troubleshooting errors, and, of course, writing the code. Let karma be its own reward, and to the degree you choose to pursue it let it drive you toward better writing things of interest to hackers.

Casseres 13y ago

I'm at 153, and I do not have downvote privileges. The problem is while I do read a lot of HN and actively upvote when it's appropriate, I do not comment much. I suppose I just have to wait to find an awesomely relevant article and post to get upvotes that way. Though to me, it doesn't matter much to downvote. I would like to occasionally when I see inappropriate comments, but I just usually flag inappropriate submissions.

brudgers 13y ago
There are many good writers on HN, but the only great submitter that comes to mind is Colinwright, and his eye for articles is probably a byproduct of the fact that he can also author interesting content. One of the great opportunities HN provides is to write something and use the feedback [which may be no upvotes or downvotes] to improve your writing. HN is a great place to learn timing, tone, and how to tailor your message to an audience of readers. The path to higher karma which depends least on luck is posting thoughtful comments.