Downvoting on HN
For Example - I gave an example of how little press cares to check authenticity of your comments and the fact they worry only about making interesting stories. I got down voted by everyone. I've gone through the guidelines and I don't think I've said anything that goes against it.
Have you also observed similar behavior on HN?
I got -6 for this - http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=559651 - which I believe was a very good example.
Guidelines on Comments - I don't think I am violatig any of those --------------- Be civil. Don't say things you wouldn't say in a face to face conversation.
When disagreeing, please reply to the argument instead of calling names. E.g. "That is an idiotic thing to say; 1 + 1 is 2, not 3" can be shortened to "1 + 1 is 2, not 3."
Please avoid introducing classic flamewar topics unless you have something genuinely new to say about them.
Please don't sign comments, especially with your url. They're already signed with your username. If other users want to learn more about you, they can click on it to see your profile.
Please don't use uppercase for emphasis. If you want to emphasize a word or phrase, put asterisks around it and it will get italicized.
Please don't submit comments complaining that a submission is inappropriate for the site. If you think something is spam or egregiously offtopic, you can flag it by going to its page and clicking on the "flag" link. (Not all users will see this; there is a karma threshold.) If you flag something, please don't also comment that you did.
Resist complaining about being downmodded. It never does any good, and it makes boring reading.
Please don't bait other users by inviting them to downmod you.
22 comments
[ 2.6 ms ] story [ 71.9 ms ] threadahem.
Come on. Get over it, learn from it, and just move on.
a) I disagree with the fact (or policy) mentioned in the comment,
or
b) I think the comment undermines the HN community,
and in the case of a comment about lying to the press, both interpretations of the meaning of a downvote might lead to a downvote on such a comment.
In the case of the comments you linked to, what the readership (and I personally) took offense at, is the fact that you proudly proclaim that you lied to the media, and then claim that it's just being "resourceful."
To summarize: you sound like someone with no moral values whatsoever.
How do you draw a line?
Just because you don't agree doesn't mean you should down vote me...
In fact, you guys are proving my point.
Also: the internet is hard, if you're going to say something in public, you need a thicker skin.
Let's link back to the original comment in question.
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=559651
In my personal experience, if you want press to write about you/your startup, you'll have to give them interesting stories that their readers like to read.
They don't have too much attention span. They don't care about how hard/easy it is do, or even if it is true or not. They just care about interesting stories...
For one of my stories I told them that we did some survey and just made up the findings. They loved it and published it next day without looking at my data or even asking me methodology of survey/research
In the context of the overall thread,
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=559646
that looked a lot like giving advice, because that was a direct reply to an "Ask HN" thread-opening post.
Your value system may be different from mine. If the advice doesn't make sense to you, move on, try something else..
Your reasons for downvoting may be different from mine. If you're being downvoted, move on, try something else..
If people think something is bad advice, that doesn't mean they don't understand it --- it can mean they understand it all too well.
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=117171
(Maybe this should be mentioned in the guidelines, as it comes up occasionally?)
I don't.
Up & down votes affect what people see on the site. Do we want HN to be full of ideas that reflect majority opinions, or do we want it to be full of interesting, useful, thought-provoking things? I would much rather it is the latter. (More to the point, if it ever stops being the latter, then I'm out of here.)