A downvote/flag does not mean you did something wrong.

 
^ This is an idea that we need to cement in the psyche of all Steemians, including new members.

Currently there is a stigma against "flagging", and it is preventing the community from downvoting content when it is has unnecessarily high pending rewards.

This post will explain the view behind why it is essential to the success of the platform "make downvoting great again".

My Views

 
I have always held the belief that flagging/downvoting from any stakeholder, for whatever reason they chose, should be allowed/accepted/encouraged. You can read the details of my position in this post, which I wrote 10 months ago.

While I have always held that belief that anyone can use their stake however they like, I have still had a personal policy to only "flag" content for reasons of abuse, and not to use it for "disagreement over rewards".

I no longer hold that view. I have come around to the idea that we need to make downvotes a regular and accepted part of the platform, if we want to be able to combat abuse and effectively distribute rewards.

All Steemians benefit from an effectively distributed rewards pool

 
New users are attracted to the platform by the potential to earn rewards. Existing users produce high quality contributions in hopes that they will be recognized and rewarded for their efforts. Visitors come to the site to consume content, and they will be more likely to stick around if they find content that they like.

If a large portion of rewards is going to users who are contributing to the platform, then everyone is incentivized to make the platform better. If more and more of the rewards pool begins to go to users who are not contributing, then we loose the incentive for community members to make the platform better.

We all have a vested interest in having the rewards pool distributed to the users who are adding the most value to the platform.

Quick thoughts on self-voting

 
If users are going to reward themselves, their friends, or their alternate accounts for producing content that benefits the community - there is nothing wrong with that. Self-upvoting in-of-itself is not a problem, and it is not abuse.

What is a problem is when the upvotes begin taking a disproportionate amount of rewards from the rewards pool - significantly more than what the content is worth to the community.

Example:

Why downvoting is necessary

 
The unfortunate reality is that many users are going to use their stake to reward themselves at the expense of the community. Users who have been added to auto-vote lists may begin to produce lower quality content, because their potential to earn rewards becomes almost guaranteed - regardless of the quality that they produce.

Downvoting is the mechanism that is built into the platform in order to lower the rewards on posts that are overvalued. Value is a subjective opinion, which is why the platform gives the entire community seven days to reach consensus on what each post/comment is worth.

If downvotes only happen once in a blue moon, the average user is going to feel hurt/harmed if they are one of the unlucky ones that receive a downvote. If it becomes a regular and frequent used part of the platform though, users will begin to consider it normal. If anyone is taken by surprise, mentors can explain how the platform works, and point to the thousands of posts and comments where it occurs every day. We need it to become a regular thing.

Proposed Changes

 
These are proposed changes that I feel will help the community to better distribute the rewards pool to the most deserving users and content:

Required

1. Have the community reach a consensus on the idea that stakeholders are allowed to use their stake however they want.
2. Have the community reach a consensus on the idea that any stakeholder is allowed to disagree with another stakeholder's upvote, and express that through a downvote.
3. Have an organized community group (similar to SteemCleaners) with delegated voting power specifically to be used for the purpose of downvoting serious cases of voting abuse.

Optional/Suggested

1. Have an organized community group with delegated voting power specifically to be used for the purpose of countering acts of retaliation / flag wars.
2. A UI change to condenser (steemit.com) to change "flag" to "downvote".
3. A separate voting power pool for upvotes and downvotes, so that users who downvote are not put at an economic disadvantage by having to sacrifice their curation rewards.

Discussion Encouraged

 
I understand that this is a very emotional issue for many Steemians. There are a lot of users with very strong beliefs.

Please keep in mind that as we discuss we may not all necessarily agree on what is best for the platform, we are all trying to express our views on how to make it the best. Disagreement on these tough issues is OK and expected.

It is through discussion and debate that we arrive at a consensus for the best path forward.