Re:Dear YC: Please stop downvoting thoughtful comments you d...
by ars on Friday July 24, 2009 @10:58AM
(#721549)
On reddit when things go to -8 it's for one reason only: They are pro religion, or pro israel, or conservative. (OK, that's 3, but it's basically the same thing.)
On reddit stupid stuff usually gets a plus vote, and people express agree/disagree via votes.
This is NOT the way HN is run, and people coming here from reddit have a hard time adjusting. So we need threads like this approximately monthly.
Maybe PG can require all new members to read some kind of etiquette guide (with a quiz).
Re:Dear YC: Please stop downvoting thoughtful comments you d...
by Skeuomorph on Friday July 24, 2009 @05:56PM
(#722522)
Having “come here from Reddit” some time ago, I can vouch that for newly arrived redditors this is moot, since I’m still not offered a downvote button.
I’d guess that by the time the downvote button shows up, most people should have had time to realize HN generally offers more interesting discussion because it works the way Reddiquette FAQ says Reddit should work: do not downvote points of view.
// Now I’ll go back to lurking.
On Reddit, since they added in the "suppress entire thread once the parent goes below -4", yes. On HN, which never suppresses the thread, no. I for one occasionally check even the -8 posts, though usually if you make it to -8 it's for a reason. I've "rescued" a few -3s with replies before.