A while back, I asked the question [Leading zeros in IPv4 address; is that a no-no by convention or standard?][1], which in hindsight could possibly have gone on another Stack Exchange, maybe Networking. However, it was not downvoted, moved, and ultimately received answers, themselves getting upvotes. Some time later, I posted [an answer][2] to a [similar question][3]. I don't recall why I posted that answer, but I just noticed that I received negative reputation for the answer. Why would that answer receive downvotes? I'm sure I would have preferred to list it as a comment, but I still don't have the comment privilege here on SuperUser. Why downvotes with no comments to explain why it was downvoted? I just went through the tour (potentially again), and looked at the [on topic][4] and [off topic][5] pages and don't understand. [1]: http://superuser.com/questions/929153/leading-zeros-in-ipv4-address-is-that-a-no-no-by-convention-or-standard/929180?noredirect=1#comment1258496_929180 [2]: http://superuser.com/questions/857603/are-ip-addresses-with-and-without-leading-zeroes-the-same/938940#938940 [3]: http://superuser.com/questions/857603/are-ip-addresses-with-and-without-leading-zeroes-the-same [4]: http://superuser.com/help/on-topic [5]: http://superuser.com/help/dont-ask