I could live with the 50/50 change, I could live with 75% author/curator going to 65% for the Steem.DAO, but what is unacceptable to me is the 25% free downvotes. Downvotes are already being used for evil, and those doing it have to take a loss in order to do it.

That's a big no for me... That's asking for all the anti-downvoting people to fork Steem and remove downvoting. It is an illogical thing to assume that people will be ethical with downvoting.

Steem is not one community, it is designed to be the backbone of thousands of communities across the web. Political parties, main stream medias, religious groups and other special interest groups will use downvotes as a means of raiding other communities to terrorize and demonetize them.

Downvoting changes the atmosphere online. If Steem becomes hugely popular, downvotes will have the effective of creating a very negative energy throughout the entire internet. Upvotes for something is a vote against everything else, so downvotes are completely unnecessary. They are used as an aggressive tool to hurt an individual or a small group. Its bully tactics, might-makes-right, not anything good and wholesome.

If Steem keeps going down this path with downvotes the internet is better off with Steem going to $0. I want to see Steem prosper, but not if its going to embrace this downvoting nonsense. Its absolutely terrible for society. Currently, the wealthy, middle class and the poor can all speak with an equal voice, downvoting destroys that equality. If Steem were to grow popular and have downvotes it would devastate the balance online of free speech for people of all incomes. I can't support that world and any technology that would bring that about.

I urge the witnesses to think harder on this subject. This is a serious misstep.