I don't think it's controversial views that make your comment score go down. Popular views definitely have a positive effect, but I don't think it's the biggest factor.<p>My current average is probably a lot higher then usual because I had some relatively early comments on the Google in China thread. Those comments probably got read by 100X or 1000X times as many of my other comments.<p>Most votes are up, not down. The biggest factor (I think) is how many people read it. The second biggest is how many people care. The third is how many agree or otherwise like the comment.