Downvoting to disagree is effectively a heckler's veto to make minority positions literally disappear. It rewards organized brigading from motivated parties you don't want to see particular criticisms be surfaced.

I don't understand why that type of discourse should be encouraged.

It's how I use it in reverse. I see my number tank and know people on HN don't agree.

What I would like is the ability to hide my score. If I notice the drop I may check a comment to see what the disagreement was, but I stopped after several times of seeing nothing just the downvotes.

Anyway, I don't need my number on every page I visit on HN, and would prefer the ability to hide it.

I'd also love the ability to mute users. Some people post on here way too often for my tastes and always with the same rhetoric. I'm sure others feel the same.

But, it is what it is. Nothing will ever be perfect, and the forced civility reminds me to be more civil IRL and I appreciate that. And it's probably good to see things I don't agree with, echo chambers are bad.

It can be somewhat arbitrary.

I remember posting a link to a BBC article which got downvoted and eventually flagged. Two weeks later I posted a link to the original research the article referred to and that time it was heavily upvoted.

I think unless your posts are getting repeatedly downvoted its not worth worrying about.