This is my favorite point
''however without the bots they will have to earn their returns somehow.''
Yes increasing the Curation was a good move in that regard. Maybe we can persuade them to stop penalizing small and new accounts by shaving off Dust curation rewards .
I am guessing the thinking is that people are more likely to buy in, but I am not too sure about the validity of that thinking.
I notice you didn't go near my point about flags.
Oops sorry!! I thought I had but I was rambling a bit toward the end.
I think free flags/downvotes are good for the simple point that people use them now, where in the past it was literally seen as a "waste" of voting power. As in you could reward yourself or others with real magic internet money or you could use that voting power combatting spam. Most people chose to reward. Now with free downvotes people can downvote without wasting their VP. I know that it is the main reason I have been throwing them around because I dont have to worry about my VP dipping too low anymore. There is potential for malicious use of them but I like to think that me and a lot of people I know use them pretty much on bid bot activity and genuine spam.