[krapp]

>Posted the ApplyHN on facebook, couple friends got accounts to support me thinking it would help.

On both your Twitter and Facebook accounts you posted: "Comments and upvotes increase our chances of getting selected!" You may not actually have used sockpuppets, but soliciting upvotes to create an artificial buzz around your product is still shady - and it definitely doesn't look good that most of the top-level comments to your Apply HN submission are from those accounts.

Looking through your submissions and replies to your comments, I don't see many comments I would consider "quite rude". I think you're being defensive because someone accused you of acting in bad faith regarding your Apply HN submission, and you posted this thread in an attempt to counter what you feel might be negative PR. You can't control the way people reply to your submissions or comments - the only thing you can do is avoid making a bad situation worse by complaining about it.

[minimaxir]

> On both your Twitter and Facebook accounts you posted: "Comments and upvotes increase our chances of getting selected!

When Apply HN was first announced, I was concerned that people would be more likely to engage in voting rings because there is now financial incentive. I didn't expect to be correct.

[gus_massa]

I also expected something like this, but I'm gladly surprised that it is very uncommon. In most of the submissions the comments look legit.