I get where you're at @liberosist, however a couple of points to consider.
Someone else other than the author, may have given a randowhale vote. I have given several randowhale votes to authors I feel have been missed.
A post that qualifies for Curie, will have an author whose vote is worth a couple of cents at best. Why should you punish someone for giving themselves such a tiny vote?
Thanks, I'm interested to hear your answers.
Fair point! I would give it the benefit of doubt if the vote is bought by someone else, though it'd still disincentivize curators. The lower the pending payout, the more the curation rewards.
Like I mentioned above, that's no issue at all. That applies only for "significant amount". To quantify that, I'll only hesitate to vote on a self-upvoted post if its $5 or something. I might still vote it given how much I like the post. For Curie, the guideline is $2 but again, reviewers might make an exception if the post is exceptional.
OK, that makes sense and sounds fair, thanks for clarifying, and keep up the good work! :-)
Cg