I'm not sure I agree here, because I think down voting is more serious than up voting. The threshold for an up vote could (and probably should) be lower than fo

I'm not sure I agree here, because I think down voting is more serious than up voting. The threshold for an up vote could (and probably should) be lower than for a down vote. Think of it this way - if some of your compliments may be a bit more than what was truly deserved, does it follow that the same should be true for your castigations? I think it's probably wise to be liberal with the former and conservative with the latter. I'm sure I don't live up to my standards completely. But my aspiration for myself would be that I would only down vote when someone is clearly harming the quality of discussion on HN, not when I just happen to disagree with the point of view.