It's actually the perceived and very real oligarchy this system creates and the fact that 1 downvote can not only wipe out the will of many, but essentially limit the exposure of the content that scares away many.
An equivalent is a Twitter or Facebook shadowban, which is viewed by many to be the same difference as a collapsed post or comment(I've never seen such a post trend, have you?). If this type of post scares off potential users, then it's because they don't agree with the reality.
I'm on many blockchain platforms populated mostly by those who don't like steem or hive specifically because of what I mention in the 1st paragraph. That's a lot of ex, but mostly potential users that have been lost, because the same web2 crap happens here, just in a slightly different way.
Instead of accepting this, we as one of the first cutting edge Web3 platforms should be trying to find a solution to the problem. Unfortunately, those who benefit most, like yourself and the other ideological downvoters, tend to see everything as just fine.
The fact is, it's no different than the US Congress continuing to work for themselves, instead of the people. Perceived or not by those who can institute solutions, like yourself, it affects more users than you know. This in effect affects the growth of the platform.