ADDED IN EDIT: What I really don't understand about HN is the people who downvote the small contributions that are intended to help others. I added this link to make it easier for people to see what it's about, to make it so they don't have to copy the URL and paste it into a browser. Someone upvoted it - which was nice - and then someone downvoted it. I really don't understand why.
I don't care about the karma. It won't get me another coffee, it won't fix bugs in my code, it won't make my in-box any less full. I do care about understanding the systems I interact with. I've given up trying to understand people in general, but thought I had a chance of getting along with the people on HN.
So, can someone explain?
Thanks.