Why aren't you quietly penalizing people who upvote them? They're damaging the site.
Here is a better question: why aren't you quietly penalizing people who submit the stories that generate these comments?
Here is a better question: why aren't you quietly penalizing people who submit the stories that generate these comments?
Features that make HN disproportionately less attractive to the kinds of users who vote up comments like the one upthread sound like a good idea.