What's fair about buying something at a price that you think is worth it, then going back a month later and complaining you aren't happy anymore?
Let's say the iPhone was given free today instead of just price-reduced: that would make you even angrier! Imagine the gall--other people getting things! Why, if we carry out your logic to its conclusion, you'd be happy if people had to pay more tomorrow than today, as though taking from others somehow justifies and internally authenticates your existence.
Just kidding. I agree with your point. It's well documented that humans get psychological satisfaction out of having more and better stuff than those around them, not just content to have the stuff to begin with. I suspect that a big part of the appeal of the iphone was the bling factor, the exclusivity of having one and showing it off during the usual weekend mating ritual. If you had spent all that money to be quirky and unique (since that is really what Apple marketing is selling), wouldn't you be pissed if suddenly your unique feature became mainstream?
You can read more about the Ultimatum game that tests this here: http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9...
B) No one is forcibly stopping you from expressing your opinion. We can even still see your comment. Whining "look at me I'm being censored" when people disagree with you is dumb.
Save the downmods for posts with poor quality.
I think it's time to add another principle to the evolving news.yc list of house rules: don't add comments that do nothing more than complain about people downmodding you. This whole branch of the thread is a waste of pixels.
Anybody listening?
If I get modded down to 0 or -1, it usually gets back up to 1 or higher. If I didn't, I probably deserved it.
Maybe the best solution is to eliminate the "leaders" page and each user's karma score from public view.