Comment by pwlm

> Just don't pretend that it's for our benefit or that we downvote it because we're unthinking drones

The reason many comments are downvoted on HN in general is most often unknown to me. One interpretation is that it's a major flaw in HN.

This design decision by HN could be intentional, as a trade-off to achieve something else. For example, it could be done to have high velocity of discussion. High velocity could preserve an invariant of keeping or pulling users on the site.

If it's a trade-off, which would suggest something is given up for it, it might be worth exploring what's given up.