
Ask HN: Downvoting threshold - flixic
From the FAQ:<p><pre><code>  Why don't I see down arrows?
  There are no down arrows on submissions. They only appear on comments after users reach a certain karma threshold.
</code></pre>
Does anyone know what this threshold is?
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brudgers
The ability to downvote may feel like a milestone, but flagging has far more
impact on the overall quality of the feed. In addition, there's always the
question of what difference will the ability to downvote make to the quality
of your comments?

A couple of years ago it went from 200 to 500. I was about at 180 at the time.
The net result was that I kept searching for better material to submit and
trying to improve my writing.

To put it another way, everyone is one good submission or ten good comments
away from the threshold the day they create an account.

~~~
JoachimSchipper
> To put it another way, everyone is one good submission or ten good comments
> away from the threshold the day they create an account.

That's a bit _too_ optimistic. My best comment has 36 points, yours has 58;
your best submission has an impressive-yet-insufficient 291 points. 500 points
is doable, but it's not trivial.

~~~
brudgers
You're assuming my comments and submissions are good on an absolute scale. I'm
not. A lot of well timed snark helped me get to 500. Back when comment scores
were visible, a well considered snarky comment on a rising new submission
would tend to collect upvotes, and I would seek them out. That's much harder
to do these days because snark is much less popular and thus more frequently
downvoted.

My point wasn't that it is trivial, but rather that 200 points or 500 points
or 1000 points is obtainable and that the better one's contributions are, the
more easily realistic karma goals may be met. Three hundred points seemed like
a lot at the time, for a short time, then it was just another number - and
I've probably lost that many points via downvotes.

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citricsquid
it increases over time:
[http://jacquesmattheij.com/The+Unofficial+HN+FAQ#cantdownvot...](http://jacquesmattheij.com/The+Unofficial+HN+FAQ#cantdownvote)

I think it's around 500 - 1000 at the moment, I recall getting the downvote
option around 500.

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Mz
Last I heard, it had been raised to 500. However, I am not the most active
member so that may not be current info.

~~~
kingofspain
It appeared for me around the time I hit 500. Since then I only used it once
and it didn't feel anywhere near as maniacal as I'd hoped.

