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replying here due to nesting:

, I'm talking about the one forming around how the majority of Steemians would like the flags to be used.

I don't think a majority of steemians have a problem with downvoting. maybe im wrong. I think most steemians were fine with downvoting content they thought was over-valued.

Even after they changed the downvote to a flag, people still continued to use it. The "makeup" post had like 20 flags, IIRC.

So they put progressively more severe warnings and restrictions on it (originally, there was no message. Then the message said "this could effect payout and visibility are you sure", now our current one)

Downvoting didnt stop until onceuponatime made that post threatening reprisals to anyone who who used their downvote. And it was referenced by nearly every author who regularly made trending at the time.

I don't know anything about your assertions regarding writers.I thought the downvote was changed to a flag in the hope that people would not engage for negative reasons. Is there any need to let someone know you don't like their post?

Personally, i prefer honest engagement. Positive, negative or middle-of-the-road. Im just throwing it out there, but maybe we can all interact and express out honest opinions (positive or negative) without the filter of what the UI deems to be inappropriate negativity.

VOting is about expressing how you think a post should be rewarded.

I think most steemians would agree that the disparity in post payout is a big problem. Downvoting over-rewarded posts is far and away the most effective way of addressing that disparity. Stigmatizing it by calling it a flag is counterproductive, IMO

I appreciate the sentiment around valuing honest engagement, I value that too. I think we agree on the outcome, just not the best way to get there :) Now that post rewards can be throttled, the rewards without flags will reflect how the community values the post...assuming bot voting is deployed accurately....from a positive standpoint. (If someone rewards a post early, they have to assume others might reward the post and that the value will increase. If it exceeds what they think is reasonable, they could change their vote.) I don't think it should be for people that don't value a post to attack the reward just because they don't value it....just produce more quality posts that you do like or reward posts that you like (increasing your influence might be a good idea too.) All of that creates positive engagement without the need for a battle and the bad feeling that comes from differing opinions. The flag, as contentious as it is....if used purely for plagiarism and the like....could then work effectively. The consensus around how best to use the present functionality is forming...I honestly believe that downvoting will lead to a lot of bad feeling and far more friction in the end.