There IS financial incentive for small fish ...
Sure, but IF everybody only upvoted themselves there wasn't anymore.
And that's why too many self-votes have a negative effet on the platform.
Splitting your OWN stake between multiple accounts gives you NO advantages ...
Sure, but also no disadvantages. and these accounts could then upvote each other, which is nothing else than somewhat 'hidden' self-voting. That's why it's not that easy to prevent self-votes through code.
There is nothing in place today that can stop "everybody" from self-voting.
And yet, strangely, it hasn't managed to kill the concept.
I fully understand that "determined self-voters" are difficult to stop.
I'm simply proposing a bare-minimum code patch that would prevent the noobs from voting on their own posts and comments in order to send a signal that self-voting is considered some sort of "cheat".
As it stands now, people are only "informed" when they notice their rep's been cut in half for no apparent reason.