[klyrs]

I make jokes frequently, and rarely get downvoted for them. They're rarely standalone. They're topical and non-obvious. Low-hanging fruit is punished here. Most jokes people happen to make are low-hanging fruit. It's like the reverse "lucky 10,000" effect: if you think something is funny, it's probably because it's novel to you. Meanwhile, the rest of us have seen that joke, on the internet, too many times already. Uninteresting comments go down. Also, delivery makes the joke: just like sarcasm, the medium isn't doing you any favors.

[willcipriano]

That's the sort of joke that you make and take your lumps for. Sometimes the feeling strikes you and you can't resist. Getting downvoted makes it funnier. The lowest you can go is -4 so it isn't even like you lose that many fake internet points for it.

[klyrs]

Indeed, the absurdity is that HN wouldn't have a reputation for being humorless, if people didn't keep making jokes here.