@simplymike, @abitcoinskeptic and @guiltyparties said much what I would have said, so shan't repeat it. I did note, though, that @guiltyparties' comment had been flagged which bears out all the comments about downvotes and flagging. Having been caught in a downvoting "war", I am painfully aware of how the practise is misused. I have said elsewhere that had this happened to me in my early days on Steemit, it would have been a death knell. Now, having seen it happen to others - for inexplicable reasons - I just sigh and carry on.
The practise is a means of bullying which, IMHO does absolutely no good at all.
Fiona