Ask YC: Number of votes on news/links on the front page declining?

There seem to be less and less upmods on the news items on the front page, even those which stay for days.

Personally, I almost never even bother to upmod, and I only log in when I want to leave a comment, yet I used to upmod stories all the time.

Is this a trend?

Personally, my ratio of upmodding comments to original submissions is probably 20:1. I'm always more interested in conversation and the value individuals here bring to it. Maybe others are developing similar habits?