Ultimately, it's a culture thing. I've been here for the better part of a year, and I've noticed that comments which I feel are worth lots of merit (I wrote a script that makes your life noticeably better! here!) and ones of less merit (It's the same as a link 30 pixels away!) are voted to almost the same karma. This was not always the case - historically, things seemed to be voted far more consistently.
The reason for this, as I ponder it in my head, might be that the threshold for downvoting on comments is too low relative to the amount of people granted that power. In my sole opinion, as the number of people able to downvote goes up, the worth of the comment voting system goes down.
Perhaps, instead - a small economy based upon earning karma with good comments, and spending it when you make negative votes - might be a good idea.
The reason for this, as I ponder it in my head, might be that the threshold for downvoting on comments is too low relative to the amount of people granted that power. In my sole opinion, as the number of people able to downvote goes up, the worth of the comment voting system goes down.
Perhaps, instead - a small economy based upon earning karma with good comments, and spending it when you make negative votes - might be a good idea.