Yeah I don't remember all of the discussions on down votes I have had. I started doing that not long after steemit went live. I eventually realized I couldn't think of a solution that I couldn't also easily exploit and invalidate. Some of them I could also see introducing new problems.
I'll admit #VYB is the first experiment I've been excited to give a shot in a long time.
I used to get pretty involved in the down vote discussions. Now I only chime in when specifically mentioned, or in rare cases I can think of anything worth saying on the subject.
That doesn't happen that often anymore.
Well, yeah. The issue is far too complex and has simply devolved into 'good vs evil', which is something I don't have the patience for, most days. Irrational, unreasonable, unrealistic. One must either knock down the entire system to the point of calling it a complete failure, or say nothing at all.
But now Hive offers a platform free of downvotes. So people can simply make a choice and be happy with it. In theory that should boost morale around here and allow those in need of it plenty of time to focus directly on their craft.
Deep down though I think some folks will still hold on to what's been making them feel bitter, completely ignore what appears to be progress being made, and continue on bashing. For some, adjusting to change is not the easiest thing to do. The entire attention economy based around bashing the platform was basically destroyed in one fell swoop. No battle was won, no battle was lost. No winners, no losers. Rather than arguing now one can simply point to the options on the table and ask them to choose.
And of course if this is successful, more options will come, catering to those with special needs, as has been the case for several years now. The door is wide open. Hopefully the potential, this time around, is actually embraced, and not squandered. Hopefully this helps remove the blinders as well.