Reserving the right to downvote is just that and nothing more.
We all have that right. In the past, transparencybot did not downvote author posts, just left a comment.
Due to feedback received by many, they have asked that they would be allowed to opt out of the comments. These same people, have stated that if there is a disagreement with rewards, then use the flag.
This then, will be how transparencybot operates. No different than anyone else on the platform. Certainly not all posts using bots will be downvoted and manual curation will be a input factor.
I am glad you are going to do the flag after manual curation. And by all means I am not saying that you are not free to use a flag how you see it fit.
What I am after is your reasoning for doing this project. Mostly because of the way you word things like in this post.
After reading it twice it made me feel like you are now giving people the choice to either accept your comments or to get flagged instead of the option opt out/never hear from again or accept my comments on your posts!
I believe that a good discussion is never wrong as long as both parties are willing to see the other persons sight.