How Do HN Downvotes work?

Question

According to my last question (how upvotes work https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38073448), I now would like to ask how downvotes work. Are there also two needed for -1 point? Please do not punish me for this question.I have read some posts but the whole picture how up- and downvotes work is a little unclear for me.

ggm · Accepted Answer

Karma is mostly meaningless. Account age plus karma equals some indication of engagement to a first approximation noting if you post shit and get constant negation that wouldn't hold. So assumes good faith actions all round.

mindcrime · Answer

I'd encourage you not to waste much time worrying about this. It really just isn't particularly important in the grand scheme of things. There are a few token "perks" that come with having certain karma levels, but IIRC those top out at 500 points (when you can downvote comments). Beyond that, karma has no real meaning except inflating one's ego. You can't spend it or use it for anything, so...

LinuxBender · Answer

There are some additional details around karma and voting in this repo [1] that you may find useful. This is not my repo.[1] - https://github.com/minimaxir/hacker-news-undocumented

pestatije · Answer

Privileged users have the opportunity to give their negative opinion on your comment without having to explain themselves...this not only downgrades your comment but also your karma, giving a double-whammy hammer to those privileged users