I had no idea what your comment meant and when they weren't quotes from the people you mentioned, I had no idea what your point was. Just a sentence like "Here

I had no idea what your comment meant and when they weren't quotes from the people you mentioned, I had no idea what your point was. Just a sentence like "Here are their various positions" (or anything more) at the top of your comment would have been a way to communicate that without making people feel confused by what point you were making or why they should click around deep in slashdot comments. I didn't downvote you because you were already below 0, but I would have downvoted from 1 to 0 if I was first to read it. I would have also added a comment like what you received (though less tinged with rudeness). I think -4 is unfair, but with more viewers, getting a few votes below 0 is easier than it once was even if only a tenth of a percent of voters are slightly more jumpy about downvoting.