Well of course they're all not going to be knee-slappers, humor is subjective. So what's the answer to this? Is there one? Should there be one?
We're just going to downvote jokes-even if one is made completely within context of discussion? Even if it's an absurdist take on a topic that actually manages to get a laugh-while also / potentially bringing up a valid point?
I'm not asking to argue this with you specifically, I'm just kind of curious in general where that line is drawn with the community.
I think as you observed above that the HN community as a whole tends to downvote even good jokes because it wants to ensure that the number of jokes doesn't increase, that HN remains for the most part more serious and substantial. As you mentioned, humor is subjective, and many people realize this. It's tough to litigate which jokes should be downvoted: was this one bad enough to warrant a downvote? It's arguably easier from a practical perspective to downvote all (or a majority) of jokes.
One thing to keep in mind is that if there's good humor in a comment that has good substantive content as well, it's likely not a bad thing and won't be downvoted. It's comments that are posted for (mostly) humor value alone that I think many in the community are trying to avoid.
Edit to add:
I want to be clear that I'm not anti-humor in general. I do highly value having a place where more serious discussion can be had. And I'm glad HN tends to be that kind of place. There are other places in the world (some of them even on the internet :) where more jovial times can be had.
I maintain the firm position that humor can in-and-of-itself contain substantive points.
But alas, I'm fighting windmills here-this is a subject I've discussed in other threads; I understand the want for the community to remain at a certain level. "Jokes"/"Humor" however seem like boogeymen/scapegoats to that end; at least in my opinion.
Edit: Caught your edit here-
One thing to keep in mind is that if there's good human in a comment that has good substantive content as well, it's likely not a bad thing and won't be downvoted.
One would think. I've definitely observed the exact opposite with a frequency that's hard to put aside as 'outlier'. But I get your point.
We're just going to downvote jokes-even if one is made completely within context of discussion? Even if it's an absurdist take on a topic that actually manages to get a laugh-while also / potentially bringing up a valid point?
I'm not asking to argue this with you specifically, I'm just kind of curious in general where that line is drawn with the community.