You've probably noticed a rash of unexpected HRs this morning, most apparently due to a change made last night. Details here, but the quick version: You can no longer reply to auto tipjars. (Customized tip jars, like the one I've posted with this diary, can still get replies.) This means the reply button is gone and people are apparently clicking the wrong button to rec, because everything has shifted over one space to the left. I'm guessing that the warning box isn't appearing at least some of the time, to further compound the problem.
[Update: Apparently some actual recs are registering as HRs as well.]
So:
1) Don't assume people are throwing bogus HRs. They probably didn't know they did it.
2) Double check your tip jar recs, to make sure you haven't done this.
3) If you see that someone appears to have done this, it would be a courtesy to let them know.
4) If you're not in the habit of checking for messages here, now would be a good time to start.
FWIW, I think turning off replies to the tip jar is a solution in search of a problem. Yes, we find the long threads that sometimes hang off tip jars are annoying. You know what? It's just going to shift down to the second comment. Those who want to mojo-whore or derail a diary will still do so. In the meantime, it will be hard to communicate directly with the diarist, who might not see a comment that you make to them downthread (not so great if you need to pass on a correction.) It also means that if people HR the tip jar intentionally, they can't explain why they did it. Which means that with a situation like we have today, we're left to wonder why all these people are HRing.