Actually, I think you completely misunderstood. I agree with you 110 percent that downvotes shouldn't be used to signal disagreement; I disagreed with you because that is, in fact, exactly how it is used most of the time. My downvote of you was ironic, illustrative of just how stupid down votes are. I was making a point. I think HN should remove down votes entirely, or make them costly, or required a tagged explanation.