RE: Down voting : A Motivational Killer or A Strategic Use of Power?

[aguayojoshua]

I think part of the problem is how downvotes work in relation to your Reputation Level. Specifically this (from the FAQ):

" ... Getting downvoted by someone with a higher reputation can push your reputation down and make your posts less visible.

Users with a lower reputation score are unable to affect your reputation."

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but this means that there is at least one person at any time who is simply "untouchable", and that same person also has effectively a chunk of censorship power over the platform. Furthermore, it's not just "one" but rather an entire echleon of "untouchables" who either purposefully, or simply by use of the platform, have managed to aquire enough rep to put themselves above the reach of most of the platform's users.

I think that what you are describing is a clash between such untouchables, but that it speaks of weaknesses in the system itself. I personally don't see anything wrong with people exercising their power in whatever way their want, if it causes trouble, it is the system that is broken, not the people. They spent money, time and effort garnering their reputation, and as such they should be allowed to use it in anyway they want, even if it's censorship or just malice.

Again, if this is not meant to happen, then the problem may be the system itself.

Comments

[charles1]

Thanks for your comment @aguayojoshua good point. However it is not about reputation rather steem power in action. People with very large steem power can downvote your posts to zero and you an not do anything about it unless you have higher steem power

[aguayojoshua]

Yeah. That's the way Steem works. If you think about it, that is the entire premise of the platform. The more Steem POWER you have, the more power you have. That means power to censor, and power to be an ass**** too. In fact, I'd say that to many, that Power to Censor, is a motivation for garnering more SP and rep.

I don't particularly like that premise, and I think it's a critical flaw that may keep interested parties away from the platform, but documentation and users are pretty open about that dynamic of SP = Power. And so I think that if the community wants to change it, they should be talking to devs and coders, rather than to the people who are simply playing the game by the flawed rules.

[kenhudoy]

@aguayojoshua
very on point... your comment is truly on point

[charles1]

Good point indeed.