[lotharbot]

It's our way of voicing very clear disagreement.

Anyone who wants to read his words still can.

[eli]

You think otherwise he might not know people disagree? Voting really shouldn't be punitive to people with unpopular opinions.

[lotharbot]

I think otherwise he might not realize the breadth and depth at which this community disagrees with him. He is not merely expressing an unpopular opinion, he's demonstrated an inability to grasp certain basic concepts. Don't think of it as punitive; think of it as a wake-up call.

Also, according to pg, it is and always has been perfectly fine to downvote people for disagreement: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=117171 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=392347 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=658691

[beedogs]

Why shouldn't it? The only way to get rid of bad ideas is to shame them out of existence.

[devgutt]

What is bad idea to you could not be a bad idea to me

[lotharbot]

Nobody is stopping you from upvoting his posts.

[eli]

Really? That's the only way?