[SquirrelOnFire]

Policy? Maybe not, but the apparent lack of downvote buttons seem to indicate that the ethos of "discussion over downvotes" is on the mark.

[biot]

Try reading the FAQ:

  Why don't I see down arrows?

  There are no down arrows on stories. They appear on comments
  after users reach a certain karma threshold, but never on
  direct replies.

Since your account was created 5 minutes ago, you lack the karma to downvote.

[codyb]

Downvoting is enabled once you hit 500 karma, a policy presumably meant to ensure that those most likely to contribute to a quality discussion are also the most likely to have good judgement in downvoting less quality discussion.

[jonknee]

There is a downvote button after you have gotten some karma.

See: http://i.imgur.com/dqItM9R.png

[giaour]

Downvote buttons become visible when you have sufficient karma to vote something down.

[baddox]

Not everyone lacks downvote buttons. I have them. I don't know how you get them, but I assume it's related to account age and/or karma.

[Mithaldu]

Looking at the responses to the parent, i wish there was also a "mark comment as duplicate" button. Maybe i still lack the karma!

[baddox]

Yeah, that's unfortunate. I clicked Reply when there were no replies, but by the time I composed my reply there were several others.