In throwawaylinux's defense, they've been using the account consistently for three months, and have a sizeable portion of karma (roughly (* 3 x) my own current 222, and (* 40 x) my own two days spent here). I believe, if I'm not mistaken, enough to use every point-based tool on the site (flagging, downvotes, colorbar). It's perhaps less than fair to wipe away a person who seems to be giving a good-faith effort like that, even if they're ultimately wrong about something.

I completely agree with everything else you said, though.