> [edit] To be honest, I didn't even know you could downvote on HN. I've never seen a downvote button.
It's offtopic, but when you reach 500 karma (or thereabouts), you get the ability to downvote the comments you feel are a net-detriment to the discussion. Sometimes, when I express a particularly unpopular opinion I also get flagged. The result is what I call "the doghouse", it causes comments to sink to the bottom like stones for a few months, among other things. HN moderation has hidden mechanics and the results can be very frustrating. But in 99% of cases, when those special mechanics are not in effect, the system works pretty well.
It's offtopic, but when you reach 500 karma (or thereabouts), you get the ability to downvote the comments you feel are a net-detriment to the discussion. Sometimes, when I express a particularly unpopular opinion I also get flagged. The result is what I call "the doghouse", it causes comments to sink to the bottom like stones for a few months, among other things. HN moderation has hidden mechanics and the results can be very frustrating. But in 99% of cases, when those special mechanics are not in effect, the system works pretty well.