Downstreamer

A downstreamer is someone who is younger in karma than you. It may be in just one flavour of karma, or in overall karma colour. There are certain codes of conduct governing how a downstreamer is treated by an upstreamer. The upstreamer can hide private information from a downstreamer, but is duty bound not to let any consequences of this information touch the downstreamer. For instance, if I have a tendency to be stingy with karma, and i have shamestickies to prove it, either now or in the past, but I choose to hide this information from a downstreamer, then I will be doubly punished if she complains that I have been niggardly again and she is found to be right by a karmatula. In these instances, however, the evidence is scrutinised very carefully, because it is an undertow: karma flowing against the grain. If the karmatula finds that she has wrongly complained, it can give her a quite severe shamesticky.