

Ask HN: How does the points system work here? - rush-tea

I am a bit confused... I replied to a thread and I got -2 points (yes, negative points).  I didn't spam or discourage, just offering my advise.<p>Just curious... And how do one judge or vote +/- point?<p>Thanks.
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ColinWright
I assume you're talking about this comment:

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2880317>

In short, it's wrong. Patenting your business model is no defense against
wholesale copying. Copyright _is_ a defense, but then you have to defend it.
Taking it to the courts costs money, and has an uncertain result.

So in this particular case I would guess you've been downvoted because you
added nothing of value, and what advice you did give was wrong.

As to how the points work, it's like this.

People can upvote submissions and comments. Every upvote helps float the item
higher, and counts for you as a point of karma.

People with enough karma (currently 500 points) can also downvote (with a few
exceptions). Downvotes are pretty much the opposite of upvotes, floating the
item lower, and taking karma from you.

The exceptions to downvotes are that you can't downvote:

* Something that's really old

* A reply to a comment you made

* A reply to a submission you made

* A submission.

People here are pretty hot on the idea of value. Simple "Me Too!" comments get
hammered, and content-free blather will get downvoted or ignored. Mostly
things get upvoted if they genuinely add relevant information.

Mostly.

~~~
rush-tea
OK. I understand it now... But now I am counting on my points via 'threads'
section on the top bar, but it doesn't add up. As of now I have 8 'karma', but
when I count, the points should be greater than 8...

So how do I know which post gets point? and which not?

Sorry, newbie questions. I read the FAQ on the HN in regards of the points
system, but there are not one clear answer...

Thank you.

~~~
ColinWright
When you submit or comment your item automatically gets one point, but that
doesn't contribute towards your karma. If you add up the points on all your
items, then subtract the number of items, you should get close.

But there are also aspects to the algorithms that aren't made public. Our host
occasionally makes changes to help fend off voting rings, spammers, trolls,
and other nasty and undesirable things.

Finally, there is no feedback as to things getting upvoted.

My recommendation is that you try to be informative, helpful, add value, and
not care so much about the karma. Whether or not people see your contributions
is largely luck anyway. Just try to work it out if you get downvoted to the
basement - try to see why people think you added no value, or were wrong. The
guidelines suggest not complaining about downvotes, and I'd agree. It doesn't
help, and it makes boring reading.

And you're welcome. Just join in, and be useful.

Good luck!

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VicT11
So 'karma' is just the level of influence you have? So you could say that
'karma' is the klout for HN? Or is there more to it?

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benologist
Users with a certain amount of points can vote comments up _or_ down.

