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> It is common practice to give yourself a few upvotes in the early minutes after a post so we did.

No it's not. And it doesn't even work.

I would have flagged it if I saw that submission in the Top 5 on the front page due to suspected manipulation.

Well, from past experience, the difference between my posts drifting into oblivion with one point and actually gaining traction is soliciting upvotes through social channels. Not sure about you, but I think most people are more likely to click a post in the new section if it has 2 or 3 points.

A random button would help with post discovery.

Yup - this has really been a humbling learning experience for us... shame as well, because we ended up missing out on the sort of feedback HN community often provides.

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