That example is not even one of my most downvoted comments, it actually had upvotes before sliding to -1 downvotes over all. The op you are replying to has more downvotes than that, sitting at -2. Why?
Don’t forget the fact I used to have close to 1000 karma on HN. So clearly something changed at some point and my decline in popularity picked up momentum. I really wish I could see data on my upvotes and downvotes history.
When you know you’re going to be downvoted regardless of what you post, it’s easy for your writing to take on a bitter and cynical tone. That said, most of my comments aren’t even like that and still get inexplicable downvotes.
> When you know you’re going to be downvoted regardless of what you post, it’s easy for your writing to take on a bitter and cynical tone. That said, most of my comments aren’t even like that and still get inexplicable downvotes.
I believe that you hit the nail on the head there. If your reaction to feedback from your peers is to turn bitter you are creating a vicious circle.
When I get a downvote, I analyze my comment and try to detect the mistake or social faux pas I commited. For example, most *chan or Reddit lingo is frowned upon so I avoid them.
This is an account I created 4 months ago because my previous account was named after a domain I no longer own. I am already at 811 karma. My previous account, created in 2013, had 5930 karma with long periods of inactivity. Karma is meaningless if you do not use it as a metric to detect how your peers perceive you. It's points without a scoreboard and no one is keeping track.
This does not mean I bend backward and follow the opinions of others. I do stand by my comments that are downvoted and would repeat them verbatim if the same conversation arise. But that's an exception and it's usually about controversial topics.
Remember that the words you write are going to be read by someone (or what's the point?). So make sure you are either helpful to other users or that you bring the discussion forward. Otherwise you are simply wasting someone's time and they will quickly click on the downward triangle.
This is not an attack, I am genuinely trying to help you get out of that catch-22.
Don’t forget the fact I used to have close to 1000 karma on HN. So clearly something changed at some point and my decline in popularity picked up momentum. I really wish I could see data on my upvotes and downvotes history.
When you know you’re going to be downvoted regardless of what you post, it’s easy for your writing to take on a bitter and cynical tone. That said, most of my comments aren’t even like that and still get inexplicable downvotes.