I'm glad downvoting was removed for new users because it is usually just used to indicate that you disagree with a point of view, though the HN elites seem just as fallible if not more fallible in this regard.
All of that still applies, though I am more likely to delete something I wrote these days and hopefully less likely to be an asshat because I try to avoid being one.
Anyway, sometimes I downvote in disagreement. It is often a better alternative to writing the nonconstructive thing I'd otherwise be inclined to write because what I'm inclined to write is the sort of comment I don't want to read on Hacker News. It's not the sort of comment I usually want to write either.
That sort of comment I don't want to read includes the sort of comment that provides a lot of entertainment elsewhere on the internet...we've all seen it: clever insulting outrage [feigned and real] written to win.
Anyway:
1. the guidelines suggest not commenting about being downvoted.
2. Questions about the site can be directed to the moderators via the contact link.
3. Good luck.
For example, just yesterday there was a thread talking about the US turning root DNS over to the UN. This thread turned into a jingoistic nightmare talking about how awesome America is, how they're the only true bastion of freedom, and how the rest of the world is a savage freedom hating backwater. That thread desperately needed more counter-balance, but no doubt people like myself were concerned that the groupthink became so focused that counter-balance would have been met with swift and numerous down downvotes (and risk site privileges because of being downvoted too heavily).
This isn't a complaint about downvotes, this is pointing out that downvotes change posting behaviour both for good (i.e. stopping people being jerks) and for bad (i.e. stopping opinion counter to the "group think").
There's no escalation. There's no feeding trolling behavior. There's no toehold on my future: I won't be curious about replies. It's cathartic. One click and I'm done expressing disagreement.
Being relatively new to HN I was rather taken aback by the misuse of the down-vote privilege by some people who capriciously wield it. I was even afraid to mention it in case I got down-voted again, since my one experience with the down-vote was when I requested for reasons why another contributors post had been down-voted!
People who wield this power are long-term users who should aspire to a higher standard. I welcome this push for accountability .
Which is not to imply that I dislike being downvoted any less than anyone else.
Also, some down votes are a miss-click. It is now possible to unvote, but that is recent and not everyone will notice if they fat fingered something.
I suggest you give more of your attention to the positive interactions. It is possible to make that choice.
Who wants it?
Also, neither I nor anyone else cares about the points, I don't expect to spend them at the karma store. What I do care about, as I'm sure you do as well, is whether something I said is incorrect and why.
Congratulations. You managed to earn a (deserved)down-vote in a post that crusades against them. :)
But more to the point. HN is an awesome community of very well informed and accomplished people who provide their viewpoints and broaden (my) understanding of many issues. Discussions generate feedback sometimes reflected in the up/down votes we accumulate. So while they may be imaginary, votes serve a very real and useful purpose.
