Tell HN: Downmodding needs to die
I have always considered HN, as a community, to be a place of great insight, interesting viewpoints, and otherwise extremely relevant information. I have enjoyed many conversations, and had even more educational moments, thanks to its users.
But we seriously need to talk about the downmods.
Downmodding, on its own, is harmless. Allowing users to downmod each other, as a means of curbing abuse, is an invaluable tool: self-policing of users has obvious merits which should be rightly acknowledged. However, downmodding as a means of pure disagreement should be unconditionally banned on Hacker News. The fact that downmodding is an acceptable means of expressing disagreement is a disservice to public commentary. If a comment is relevant and non-abusive, there is no reason it should ever be downmodded.
In other words: If you are downmodding out of disagreement, you should not have downmod privileges. If you don't agree with a message, use your words. Don't try to prevent others from reading it.
Downmodding only serves to promote resentment among users with unique viewpoints. The ability to express relevant but controversial opinions is fatally hindered when those opinions are suppressed due to unpopularity. Downmodding is a form of communal censorship, and it should be treated as such. For a community which bills itself as for hackers, and by hackers, "popular opinion" should be the least of all factors -- it should be scoffed at by any self-respecting hacker. Dissenting opinions, especially unpopular ones, should be championed -- not downmodded.