I'm exaggerating; don't take this personally, but you're likely being downvoted because one reading of your comment is that is simultaneously content-free, self-aggrandizing, and disparaging of others. If you want to contribute positively to the discussion, "been there, done that, everybody hates me, but you're all idiots" comments aren't the way.

I wouldn't be too concerned with what other people think. Be honest and move on. I read it, after all.

I mostly liked your comment and certainly related to it (and I didn't downvote it).

But after years of feeling resentful and contemptuous towards "everyone else", I've recently come to learn how unnecessary and counter-productive that is.

On an evolutionary level, there are important reasons why disruptive new ideas face resistance, and our task is to figure out how to communicate our insights in a way that can be understood and embraced by others.

In order to do that, one must have respect and compassion for their audience and their community.

You'll do be better to find a way to share your ideas with humility and warmth. At worst, even if others don't listen, you'll still feel happier.

Your holier-than-thou attitude probably put off people who read your comments.

Well, the unfortunate aspect of HN's ranking system, is that downvotes aren't actually an expression of hate, or even reproach.

The reality is, that the motive for any given vote is that of a sort algorithm.

Which, you may recognize as:

  Object.sort(function(a, b){
    return (a - b);
  });

So, what people are really doing is moving things around, strictly with respect to the contents of the thread, as applicable to the conversation at hand.

So, even if you are on topic, within some threshold, if you are not the most relevant response, but you're pinned to the top by default, people with the option to move you downward will do so. This is purely a function of rearrangement, in the minds of the downvoters, not unlike moving icons around on the desktop.

But of course, for you, the icon in question, to be brushed aside like this, is most certainly an emotional event.

Alas.

Oh, I got downvoted for replying sympathetically and I think mine was the first reply. I sincerely would be interested in discussion of how one gets past that. I don't know how that's done. I meant that.

But it doesn't look like sincere interest in having a meaty discussion. It looks like low substance whining.

On HN, if you don't know the right question to move forward, you can get ROFLstomped for opening your mouth at all. Sometimes, you find the right question by trying to talk about it anyway and accepting some downvotes in the process.