[ndm000]

Side question - do you need to reach a certain level of membership with HN to see the downvote button? I may be missing something, but seems that's only allowed for certain individuals.

[nkurz]

Yes, there's a minimum number of points required to downvote. I think it's currently 500. Here's an unofficial FAQ that give more information about the thresholds: https://github.com/minimaxir/hacker-news-undocumented/blob/m...