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I don't get it: do comments get downvoted on HN whenever there's any mention of or opinion on difference between genders? Disagreement shouldn't lead to downvote.

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> Disagreement shouldn't lead to downvote

Actually PG said the opposite. I used to have the comment saved, but lost it in a format.

Anyway, people also downvote because they are sick of talking about this.

I'm surprised if PG did say that. If disagreement should lead to downvote, then unpopular opinions would not see the light of day.

Also, if one's sick of discussing a topic, s/he can simply don't read about or discuss it. Why prevent others from discussing it?

Things pg said about downvotes:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=117171

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=392347

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=658691

It's how HN has always worked, and in my opinion needs to. A site that cares about discussion quality needs those white blood cells.

Thanks for sharing the threads. I always think that downvoting is for discouraging bad arguments from DH0 to DH3 [1] (for discussion quality as you mentioned). Now I realize that even convincing arguments at DH6 can be downvoted as long as one disagrees with it.

[1] http://www.paulgraham.com/disagree.html

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