I am a bit confused... I replied to a thread and I got -2 points (yes, negative points). I didn't spam or discourage, just offering my advise.<p>Just curious... And how do one judge or vote +/- point?<p>Thanks.
I assume you're talking about this comment:<p><a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2880317" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2880317</a><p>In short, it's wrong. Patenting your business model is no defense against wholesale copying. Copyright <i>is</i> a defense, but then you have to defend it. Taking it to the courts costs money, and has an uncertain result.<p>So in this particular case I would guess you've been downvoted because you added nothing of value, and what advice you did give was wrong.<p>As to how the points work, it's like this.<p>People can upvote submissions and comments. Every upvote helps float the item higher, and counts for you as a point of karma.<p>People with enough karma (currently 500 points) can also downvote (with a few exceptions). Downvotes are pretty much the opposite of upvotes, floating the item lower, and taking karma from you.<p>The exceptions to downvotes are that you can't downvote:<p>* Something that's really old<p>* A reply to a comment you made<p>* A reply to a submission you made<p>* A submission.<p>People here are pretty hot on the idea of value. Simple "Me Too!" comments get hammered, and content-free blather will get downvoted or ignored. Mostly things get upvoted if they genuinely add relevant information.<p>Mostly.