RE: Let's Make Downvoting Great Again!
I believe downvoting is open to abuse and does in fact lead to censorship. I was attracted to Steemit, not because of the monetary rewards, but more for the belief at the time, that the platform was not subject to the same levels of draconian censorship we have seen on FB, Twitter and Youtube during 2017.
I have been a long time follower of a writer by the name of Sarah Abed who has written extensively on the War on Syria. As a Syrian-born American, she has an insight into the conflict that many others do not. Her extremely well-researched views are counter to the views pushed by the mainstream media. When she writes an article, she puts a lot of time and effort into the research and writing. Soon after I joined, I was excited to discover Sarah was a member of Steemit and sharing her articles on this platform.
While her posts were providing modest rewards, she was spending days and even weeks researching each article. But someone, or someones, didn't like what she had to say, and started downvoting her because she had the nerve to criticise certain governments and express support for others. The rewards she earned dropped dramatically and she has virtually stopped posting.
If she is gone for good, she is a huge loss to the Steemit platform. If other talented writers and researchers with alternative viewpoints are also flagged into oblivion, I'm not sure what the future of Steemit will be.
Good example. I think there is a solution somewhere, but it is not as simple as what timcliff presented. I don't think it's bad for people to disagree and voice that opinion, and in reality, when people disagree it does mean that what is being said has less value to those people. My issue is the impact one vote can have, and I can see a single vote wiping out the entire value of what 50+ people voted for.
Yes, I believe any solution has to protect the platform from censorhip as a key priority. The censorship on Facebook is getting ridiculous. I rarely use FB any more, but when I went on for a quick update yesterday, for example, one of my Syrian FB friends was announcing that she was now back on after being banned (just for expressing her support for own country). Another FB friend Jay Dyer has a large following on his website, Youtube channel etc, he appears regularly on many popular podcasts and has his own show on Gaia TV called Hollywood Decoded. He received a warning from FB recently that he may soon be banned for life.
It's these people who should be welcomed on Steemit. Jay Dyer, for example, puts a lot of work into his writings and Youtube lectures and would be a great asset to this platform. He is extremly knowledgeable on a wide range of topics from religion to geopolitics and movies.
Yes, debate is healthy, and I know Jay for one would welcome the opportunity to debate his ideas in the comments section of his posts. But will these talents come if any income they can earn for all their knowledge and hard work can be wiped out by someone, or a group, who does not agree with their point of view.
While possibly flying under the radar now, Steemit will eventually receive the attention of professional lobby groups, PR campaigners, political groups and even governments. all with very deep pockets. They will be able to invest in the platform and possibly wipe out all dissenting voices.
If that day comes, we will just have another heavily censored platform where the free expression of ideas is not tolerated.
Yes, that's the problem with flagging. The 'weaker' one often doesn't dare to contradict the 'stronger' one.