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Re:The NHS is looking for up to 250k volunteers by mistermann on Tuesday March 24, 2020 @03:26PM (#22678023)
At the time of me writing this comment, yours is light grey (due to downvotes I presume - is there any other possible cause?).

A statement that includes explicit acknowledgement of uncertainty should not be downvoted (unless there is another reason contained within), full stop. If this was /r/politics, fine, but it isn't.

This is causing harm to society that we have very little means of seeing (at least not without an investment of significant effort and time, something most people tend to avoid whenever possible).

I have deliberately not included acknowledgement of uncertainty, for two reasons.

Re:The NHS is looking for up to 250k volunteers by kazinator on Tuesday March 24, 2020 @04:05PM (#22678416)
In HN, insubstantial comments are downvoted, irrespective of politeness or reasonable disclaimers.

For instance, say, "I fully acknowledge that this is just bunk told in jest to small children, but perhaps the Moon could really be made of Roquefort cheese." is not a HN-worthy comment.

Re:The NHS is looking for up to 250k volunteers by mistermann on Tuesday March 24, 2020 @04:30PM (#22678666)
> In HN, insubstantial comments are downvoted, irrespective of politeness or reasonable disclaimers.

That is undoubtedly true. It may even be consistent with official site guidelines (which I don't think make any claim to be perfect - "perfect is the opposite of good" as they say).

Might this also be true: "In HN, comments are sometimes downvoted, irrespective of whether the comment is insubstantial, off-topic, or incorrect. The reasons behind this are incredibly complex."