

Ask HN: After what karma can I downvote? - alecsmart1

Are there any other features linked to the karma I have? Any page which lists them all?
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brudgers
Other than downvoting and flagging, HN does not provide users with editorial
powers. While there are moderators who can edit headlines, they are selected
by Y-Combinator [the company].

The amount of gamification is minimal and has actually been reduced in the
last couple of years when individual comment scores were hidden from public
view. This is because, unlike Reddit, HN is not the end product. It is a
marketing tool for Y-Combinator [the program], and to some degree a data
stream useful for evaluating and filtering some of the applications into it.

To put it into perspective, historically, PG has been very much hands on to
the point of rebooting the server, troubleshooting errors, and, of course,
writing the code.

Let karma be its own reward, and to the degree you choose to pursue it let it
drive you toward better writing things of interest to hackers.

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Casseres
I'm at 153, and I do not have downvote privileges. The problem is while I do
read a lot of HN and actively upvote when it's appropriate, I do not comment
much. I suppose I just have to wait to find an awesomely relevant article and
post to get upvotes that way. Though to me, it doesn't matter much to
downvote. I would like to occasionally when I see inappropriate comments, but
I just usually flag inappropriate submissions.

~~~
brudgers
There are many good writers on HN, but the only great submitter that comes to
mind is Colinwright, and his eye for articles is probably a byproduct of the
fact that he can also author interesting content.

One of the great opportunities HN provides is to write something and use the
feedback [which may be no upvotes or downvotes] to improve your writing. HN is
a great place to learn timing, tone, and how to tailor your message to an
audience of readers. The path to higher karma which depends least on luck is
posting thoughtful comments.

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sejje
I've read it's relative to the amount of total karma in existence.

It's not 300, as said in another comment, because I'm over 400 and cannot
downvote.

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OafTobark
That's incorrect. It's when you're over 500.

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MattBearman
It was 500 hundred when I got the ability, but that was a while back so it
could have gone up since then.

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alecsmart1
I guess I have a while to go. What about editing etc.

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ballard
Editing titles seems like another level. What other levels are there?

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hardwaresofton
300 is supposedly the point at which you can downvote... I'm at 299 and I have
no idea

~~~
mschuster91
It is 500 (exclusive), so the downvote button appears once you have 501 or
more points.

