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> prevailing opinions seem to emerge, and anything that questions or disagrees with them gets downvoted to hell

Hmm... sounds like another community we all know. This is not a unique problem to Reddit or large communities. It's inevitable in any forum when you try to use crowdsourcing to moderate/curate content.

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Yes, but there is also public knowledge of HN’s biases, people comment with them in mind and are often self-aware when they express dissenting opinions. Some of the best comments open by admitting they run counter to the prevailing wisdom.

How do downvotes even work here? I've been posting here for years and (as far as I know) am in good standing and don't have the option.

I think it unlocks at 500 total karma, although that number has changed a few times and I'm not sure if it's current. Looks like you're still at 330.

It was 500 a few months back when I got it.

You need 500 “karma” IIRC in order to gain the privilege.

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