Once you reach a certain level (around 300 points I think) you will be able to downvote comments and the comments are arranged so that those with higher points overall (not just for specific responses) rank higher than others. I believe this is so that a long term contributor to HN can have their opinion heard ahead of some fresher faces.
awe I was wondering where that down vote button was that I read about in FAQ. Thanks for the info. It was becoming clear that some with higher overall pts were making it to Hacker news page while others with higher comments or points on a thread were not on the main page. now I understand why. Thanks.
