>when expressing on HN political opinions which don't accord with the local consensus
This is the case not only with unpopular political opinions, but anything mildly or even vaguely controversial. I'm convinced that it's mostly the same few individuals who sit on HN all day and downvote away.
I've also wondered about the possible existence of a bot or bots that downvote comments with certain keywords, in a misguided effort to avoid any Reddit-like dilution of HN's usual quality. What makes me think it might be bots is the consistent speed with which mildly controversial posts get downvoted once or twice. It seems too regular to be human-mediated (and if it is, then I worry for the mental state of said human).
I am certain I've seen Communist sentiments scattered around HN but with actual discussion. The same goes for Libertarian sentiment, however I think OP's comment seems flippant at least and reddit flair flippant at most. He contributed nothing by stating his opinion and seemed to be asking for a retort.
This is the case not only with unpopular political opinions, but anything mildly or even vaguely controversial. I'm convinced that it's mostly the same few individuals who sit on HN all day and downvote away.
I've also wondered about the possible existence of a bot or bots that downvote comments with certain keywords, in a misguided effort to avoid any Reddit-like dilution of HN's usual quality. What makes me think it might be bots is the consistent speed with which mildly controversial posts get downvoted once or twice. It seems too regular to be human-mediated (and if it is, then I worry for the mental state of said human).