[hardly_a_mirage]

> There are times I miss public vote counts. While it's nice to assess someone's position just on its merit, it's also useful to factor in how much popular support that opinion has. If I disagree with a position that looks well-endorsed by the community, maybe I should take a second look at the topic and whether my minority position is really correct.

It also has the negative impact of discouraging people from voicing their opinion.

What I really like about HN is that I could be reading opinions from leaders in the topic field, or someone who is just a hobbyist in the field, without really knowing it. And I get to make my voting decision based on the quality of the content alone.