In all seriousness: some folks on HN (not all) seem to be the guard in the center of the panopticon.

If you could see a list of who downvoted you, I'd bet that something interesting would happen.

I almost expect to come back and see my karma drop as a result of this comment.

I think having downvotes public is an intersting idea. It would certainly force people to justify their downvotes, anyway.