I'm not new, I've had countless accounts over the years, about a decade longer than you, with complete disinterest in being gamified, a different account on each browser on each device. You get excited about karma if you like. The complaint wasn't about being downvoted, it was about the people who do it with a complete lack of rationality, or consistency if you look at the other comments. Some threads attract intelligent people, some threads... bless. I've always considered HN downvoting to be broken, and will complain about it as much as I like. Guidelines are for children and idiots; I've lived long enough to know how to behave without some valley kid's views. Delete it for what? Flag it if you want - I've seen far more stupid flags than that.
A few decades back I visited a traditional zulu village museum. In the wattle and daub huts they had thin logs for pillows, somewhat like firewood. Couldn't find an image in a quick web search.