Hacker News FAQ

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
How are stories ranked?
The basic algorithm divides points by a power of the time since a story was submitted. Comments in threads are ranked the same way.
Other factors affecting rank include user flags, anti-abuse software, software which demotes overheated discussions, account or site weighting, and moderator action.
How is a user's karma calculated?
Roughly, the number of upvotes on their posts minus the number of downvotes. These don't match up exactly. Some votes are dropped by anti-abuse software.
Do posts by users with more karma rank higher?
Why don't I see down arrows?
There are no down arrows on stories. They appear on comments after users reach a certain karma threshold, but never on direct replies.
Why do I see an orange/red asterisk?
It just means it's your own post.
Why are my links grey instead of black like other links?
It means you've visited it before. If you click on a black link it will turn grey.
What kind of formatting can you use in comments?
http://news.ycombinator.com/formatdoc
How do I submit a question?
Use the submit link in the top bar, and leave the url field blank.
How do I submit a poll?
http://news.ycombinator.com/newpoll
How do I make a link in a text submission?
You can't. This is to prevent people from submitting a link with their comments in a privileged position at the top of the page. If you want to submit a link with comments, just submit the link, then add a regular comment.
What are Ask HN and Show HN?
Ask HN lists questions and other text submissions. Show HN is for sharing your personal work and has special rules.
Why hasn't my submission appeared on Ask HN or Show HN?
All Ask HNs appear on newest and asknew, and all Show HNs on newest and shownew, but there is a small points threshold before a post makes it to ask or show.
What do green usernames mean?
Green indicates a new account.
Why are some comments faded?
Faded text means that a comment has been downvoted. You can read the comment in normal text by clicking on its timestamp to go to its page.
What does [flagged] mean?
Users flagged the post as breaking the guidelines or otherwise not belonging on HN.
Moderators sometimes also add [flagged] (though not usually on submissions), and sometimes turn flags off when they are unfair.
How do I flag a comment?
Click on its timestamp to go to its page, then click the 'flag' link at the top. There's a small karma threshold before flag links appear.
What does [dead] mean?
The post was killed by software, user flags, or moderators.
Dead posts aren't displayed by default, but you can see them all by turning on 'showdead' in your profile.
If you see a [dead] post that shouldn't be dead, you can vouch for it. Click on its timestamp to go to its page, then click 'vouch' at the top. When enough users do this, the post is restored. There's a small karma threshold before vouch links appear.
What does [deleted] mean?
The author deleted the post, or asked us to. Unlike dead posts, these remain deleted even when showdead is turned on.