Hacker News karma does not raise a post's rank, and its rules forbid asking for upvotes
Hacker News karma is a figure kept for each user, and the site's FAQ answers No when asked whether posts by users with more karma rank higher. The basic ranking algorithm divides points by a power of the time since a story was submitted, an account is required to upvote, and Hacker News penalizes or bans submissions, accounts and sites that solicit upvotes.
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Ranking algorithm results: how points and time shape a story's order
Hacker News builds its story order on a simple ratio. The FAQ calls it the basic algorithm: points divided by a power of the time since submission. TechCrunch's history of the site describes the arrangement from outside, as users submitting links to stories that are ranked according to a voting system.
Dividing by a power of age has a plain consequence: a story's score falls as it gets older, and only new points hold it up. Comments in threads are ranked the same way, so a comment's position follows the same arithmetic of points against age.
A story line on Hacker News shows its points, the submitter's name, the time since it was posted and its comment count, and those figures are public. They show what the basic algorithm starts from. They do not show where the story will sit.
- Fixed: points sit on top of the division, and the divisor is a power of the time since submission.
- Open: the size of that power, which the FAQ sentence does not give.
- Open: how flags, weighting and moderator action enter the ranking.
How Hacker News ranking works beyond points: flags, weighting and moderators
Ranking on Hacker News works on more than votes and time. The FAQ lists other factors affecting rank: user flags, anti-abuse software, software that demotes overheated discussions, account or site weighting and moderator action.
A story's position can therefore differ from what its points and age alone would give. A flag, the demotion software or a moderator's action (each named separately by the FAQ) can move it. And the FAQ names these factors in a single sentence.
- Software: anti-abuse software, and the software that demotes overheated discussions.
- People: user flags raised by readers, and action taken by moderators.
- Weighting: account or site weighting, which the FAQ names without a formula.
Hacker News upvotes: what the guidelines ask of the voter
An upvote on Hacker News is meant to record personal interest. The guidelines say users should vote and comment when they run across something they personally find interesting, not for promotion.
The welcome page adds the test for stories: they do not have to be about hacking, because good hackers are not only interested in hacking, but they do have to be deeply interesting. Y Combinator runs the site, and a Y Combinator announcement records that its focus widened from news about startups to news interesting to hackers generally.
But a request for free upvotes falls outside that purpose. Asking others to vote puts promotion, not personal interest, behind the vote, and the guidelines' rule on soliciting covers the request itself.
- Personal interest: the stated reason to vote or comment.
- Deep interest: the welcome page's test for a story.
- Promotion: the reason the guidelines rule out.
Hacker News rules: who is eligible to upvote and what the guidelines forbid
One line states the entry requirement for upvoting: 'You need a Hacker News account to upvote'. A karma threshold for upvoting is not part of that statement.
The Hacker News Guidelines state the rule on asking for votes in six words: 'Don't solicit upvotes, comments, or submissions.' The wording carries no exception for a free request. A separate item page applies the rule to personal networks: arranging for friends or colleagues to upvote a post is against the rules on HN.
The rules thus reach three situations: asking for upvotes, arranging them with friends or colleagues, and voting rings, which Hacker News says its software protects against.
Detection and penalties: what happens when upvotes are arranged
Hacker News says some votes are dropped by anti-abuse software, and an item page calls voting rings verboten and says HN has software to protect against them. A dropped vote does not count toward the story's total, so a visible count can differ from the upvotes attempted.
Neither statement says how many votes are dropped, which ones, or what sets the software off, so no trigger can be quoted for either.
The FAQ names the penalties in one sentence, and the sentence covers three targets: a submission, an account and a site. Each can be penalized or banned for breaking the rule against soliciting upvotes. The sentence gives no warning period and no number of strikes.
Hacker News karma levels: more karma does not rank a post higher
Hacker News karma is a figure kept for each user, and the FAQ keeps it apart from ranking: asked whether posts by users with more karma rank higher, it answers No. A larger total therefore does not raise that user's posts.
Karma levels, downvote thresholds and other privileges tied to a score are for Hacker News to set, and a current figure has to come from Hacker News itself. The FAQ sentence on rank factors lists user flags and does not mention downvotes.
The guidelines describe conduct, not a formula: interest-driven voting and commenting, with no requests for upvotes.
| Factor | What Hacker News says |
|---|---|
| Points and time | The basic algorithm divides points by a power of the time since a story was submitted. |
| Comments in threads | Comments are ranked the same way as stories. |
| User flags | Listed among the other factors affecting rank. |
| Anti-abuse software | Listed as a factor; the FAQ also says it drops some votes. |
| Overheated discussions | Software demotes them, and the FAQ lists that demotion as a factor. |
| Account or site weighting | Listed as a factor; the sentence that names it gives no formula. |
| Moderator action | Listed as a factor alongside user flags and the software. |
| User karma | No: posts by users with more karma do not rank higher. |
What to do
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Open a Hacker News account first
Hacker News states that a user needs an account to upvote, so no vote can be cast before one exists.
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Upvote what you personally find interesting
The guidelines tie a vote to personal interest, not promotion. The welcome page applies the same test to stories: they do not have to be about hacking, but they do have to be deeply interesting.
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Cast one upvote per item
Once a user has voted on an item, no duplicate vote is accepted, according to a Speaker Deck presentation comparing the reputation systems of Hacker News and Slashdot. A second vote on the same item adds nothing.
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Upvote at any time, reply within a fortnight
Per the vale.rocks article on Hacker News, submissions can be replied to within a fortnight of their publication but upvoted at any time. An older submission therefore still takes an upvote after replies have closed.
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Treat public points as a count, not a rank
A story line on Hacker News shows its points publicly, but the FAQ says you can't derive rank from votes and time alone. Flags, anti-abuse software, the demotion of overheated discussions, weighting and moderator action also affect it.
Frequently asked
How to get Hacker News karma?
Hacker News's guidelines point to participation, not requests: users should vote and comment when they run across something they personally find interesting, and soliciting upvotes is prohibited. The FAQ says a larger karma total does not make a user's posts rank higher. Karma levels and the way karma is counted are for Hacker News's own pages to state.
How to upvote on Hacker News?
Upvoting on Hacker News requires a Hacker News account, which the site states outright. Once a user has voted on an item, no duplicate vote is accepted, according to a Speaker Deck presentation on Hacker News and Slashdot. Submissions can be upvoted at any time, while replies to them close after a fortnight, per the vale.rocks article.
What is Hacker News karma?
Hacker News karma is the figure the site keeps for each user. The FAQ asks whether posts by users with more karma rank higher and answers No, so more karma does not lift a user's posts in the ranking. Story points are a different thing: the public total beside a story, which the basic ranking algorithm divides by a power of the time since submission.
How does Hacker News ranking work?
Hacker News ranking works from points and time plus other factors: the FAQ lists user flags, anti-abuse software, software that demotes overheated discussions, account or site weighting and moderator action. The FAQ also says you can't derive rank from votes and time alone. Comments in threads are ranked the same way as stories.
How does the Hacker News ranking algorithm work?
The basic Hacker News ranking algorithm divides points by a power of the time since a story was submitted, according to the site's FAQ. A story's score therefore falls as it ages unless new points arrive. The FAQ sentence gives no value for the power, so no decay rate can be stated.
Can friends or colleagues be asked to upvote a Hacker News post?
No. A Hacker News item page states that arranging for friends or colleagues to upvote a post is against the rules on HN. The guidelines add a general rule: users should not solicit upvotes, comments or submissions.
What happens to Hacker News accounts that solicit upvotes?
Hacker News penalizes or bans submissions, accounts and sites that break its rule against soliciting upvotes, according to its FAQ. The FAQ also says some votes are dropped by anti-abuse software, and an item page says HN has software to protect against voting rings. The penalty sentence gives no warning period and no number of strikes.
Cited sources
- Hacker News. news.ycombinator.com/item.
- Hacker News. news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html.
- Hacker News. news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html.
- Hacker News. news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html.
- Hacker News. news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html.
No upvote alone settles where a story sits on Hacker News: flags, the software and moderators act on the ranking too, and the FAQ names them without weights. Soliciting upvotes is against the guidelines, so nothing here describes a method for it. Karma levels and downvote thresholds are not given, because Hacker News's own pages are the only place that can state them.
Reddit prohibits vote manipulation and counts using voting services, or asking people to vote on specific posts for personal gain, as manipulation. Product Hunt prohibits asking for upvotes, using bots and incentivizing upvotes. The Search for a Champion rules void votes from commercial contest subscriptions and vote-swapping sites, and the organiser may disqualify the entrant.
support.reddithelp.com help.producthunt.com championautoparts.com
Hacker News says it uses software to detect and protect against voting rings, and that its anti-abuse software drops some votes. IMDb says it may apply a different weighting calculation when it detects unusual rating activity. Ordinary participation is a spread of unconnected people voting at different times, which is the baseline these systems measure against, and this describes their checks without offering any way past them.
The documents cited here are platform terms, so the consequences they state are contractual: removal, vote resets, suspension, delisting or account termination. Hyvote prohibits vote manipulation, including buying or selling votes for a server listing. Whether a payment for votes is also lawful in a given country is outside these sources and belongs to a lawyer. Boards whose terms bar paid votes, contests that void them and political ballots are refused.
Once voting closes, an order for a board or contest that has not reached its published count is refunded for the part not delivered. Nothing is refunded for action by the platform: Hytale Servers says servers found manipulating votes face vote resets, suspension, delisting or account termination, and TopG may reset votes and freeze a listing when it catches cheating. No rank or result is promised.