Downvotes can be used to stifle dissent, but are generally valuable.
I feel like 60-70% of the heavily downvoted comments I see are already trolling or flaming (or in some cases something dumb, like a 3-word reference to an internet meme). With the grayed out text, I think this is a fantastic visual cue about how not to act on HN.
(I could have just written this comment as "/disagree", and then watched it get appropriately downvoted, and learned my lesson)
Edit: I should also add that as a barely-contributing user, I don't have the ability to downvote. But I'd still like other people to be able to do it, to enforce the community's standards.
Comments
Downvotes can be used to stifle dissent, but are generally valuable.
I feel like 60-70% of the heavily downvoted comments I see are already trolling or flaming (or in some cases something dumb, like a 3-word reference to an internet meme). With the grayed out text, I think this is a fantastic visual cue about how not to act on HN.
(I could have just written this comment as "/disagree", and then watched it get appropriately downvoted, and learned my lesson)
Edit: I should also add that as a barely-contributing user, I don't have the ability to downvote. But I'd still like other people to be able to do it, to enforce the community's standards.