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Comment by mwexler | Hacker News Reader

Apropos of nothing: I may learn things from HilbertSpace's comments, I may agree or disagree with them... but I never have a problem identifying them, usually from the first sentence.

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That's what PG's HN MODs do also, and then they attack, usually without any comments. It's PERSONAL. It's a SCANDAL.

There is STILL not a single, meaningful comment in rebuttal to anything I wrote. Not a one.

I outlined for CS profs how to get published, and the HN MODs got their bowels in an uproar.

I've had my fair share of comments being downmodded without any retort, meaningful or no, and have edited those posts asking for retorts as well in the past.

However, I have no illusion of a conspiracy against me. I'm not an "HN Mod" - in fact, I'm a very lightweight contributor. I've posted a handful of stories, but mostly just comment on things -- and my comments are often against the current here -- but I have the ability to downvote. Oh, and I can change the color of the bar at the top of the HN front page. It's not some elevated privilege enjoyed by the few.

You're being downvoted into oblivion because you're over-reacting, to the point where not knowing you outside these posts you've made now, I suggest you take a little walk away from the computer/internet. It's really not that important dude.

This is NOT nearly the first time. There is a pattern, and the only reasonable explanation is that one or more HN MODs just do NOT like a lot of my posts and jump to downvote ASAP with anger.

A guess that fits the facts of what they don't like is anything critical of any other media outlet, anything about CS, or anything about venture capital. But it is necessary to guess since the downvoters essentially never respond to the substance of my posts. The situation has clearly become personal for them and, then, me.

Another reasonable explanation is that you tend to irritate many people with your tone.

You can be critical of things without being irrational about it. As an example, note my edit your post:

"This isn't the first time. One or more people at HN do not like my posts and downvote them. I can only guess at why I'm downvoted, since often times the downvoters do not respond my posts."

It's concise, does not make any assumptions, avoids CAPS LOCK except where abbreviating, doesn't call anyone a chickenshit, and otherwise gets right to the point. I'm pretty sure that if your replies were more like that than "MYSTERIOUS SITE MODERATORS ARE CHICKENSHITS WHO ARE OUT TO GET ME" you would end up with less downvotes.

I'm with you - it can feel frustrating when you post something, and then lose karma without any rhetorical exchange about why. Sometimes you can ask for an explanation and actually get a response, but sometimes you're just left hanging. Don't sweat it, and keep moving.

I always know when my posts will be downvoted, and I don't understand why anyone else would have trouble identifying the same. The community here has its norms of behavior. When you violate one of them, expect to get the karma smacked out of you.

For what its worth, downvotes aren't undoable here, and I've fat fingered the button a few times when meaning to upvote on touch screen devices. If you're getting random unexplained single downvotes, its possible someone else did that and didn't realise. I'd imagine such issues explain a significant number of cases where people go from 1 to 0 without anything downvote worthy.

It'd be nice if I could disable the downvote button while on my phone, as I've given almost as many unintentional downvotes as intentional ones. Or at least have a minute to change the vote after submitting.

(Obviously this doesn't explain bulk downvotes or anything of that kind)

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