Because of the obvious analogy to other situations where humans are helpless but apparently still considered alive, e.g. life support.

I think there are two possible solutions to this:

1. Don't allow downmodding. Or maybe just have a reporting system for spam. The best posts should still rise to the top if you increase the score ceiling, say to +20.

2. Don't allow people to choose which posts they moderate. Have moderation work like metamoderation does now - the system decides which posts you can moderate. That should stop karma raids dead.

But, in fairness to the parent poster, human error, slackness in applying regulations, construction short-cuts etc. will always be a risk. Of course newer designs are much safer, and FWIW I am pro-nuclear, but is it really nonsense to say that people's fears are justified?

I understand your resistance to regulation. But I just wonder:

Could this be wishful thinking? How would you actually achieve this? To take TFA as an example: how would people ever find out they'd been lied to in this case, without being knowledgable about the workings of computers?

I assume you meant "water prevents dehydration"...? Well, maybe the EU wasn't so stupid there. If you are actually dehydrated (i.e. not just thirsty), then water will not fix the problem. This is why you don't give pure water to a diarrhoea sufferer.

Now of course regulation can be taken too far. But at the moment, the advertising industry has way too much a free hand. Here in the UK, the worst punishment that seems to be handed out is "don't do it again".

If your best low-risk alternative is prohibitively expensive, it's not much good, is it?

So the history of NP up until now is "the best we can do"? Whatever, when you actually bring some facts to the table instead of sitting there calling everything BS we can actually have a discussion.

Stop trying to argue by mind-reading. After a rant like that, I don't know how you've got the nerve to accuse anyone else of being angry.