Downvotes

The discussion on Hive has been red hot over censorship and suppression.

But is it really that? Is "zeroing down" someone's potential rewards actually a way to censor someone's posts?

So let's discuss...

The claim is, that when a post (usually a trending one) gets downvoted to 0, it doesn't get as much visibility as it would when it isn't downvoted.

This is true. It will not reach the trending page. And gains less visibility than it otherwise would.

However, when a post doesn't get upvoted, it doesn't get that sort of visibility either. When you start posting on Hive, you don't get on the trending page, unless you are very lucky.

So isn't everyone new to Hive, who doesn't yet have followers or HP – using this same logic – being suppressed?

So should everyone be promoted to the trending page from the start?

I don't think so.

Nobody is entitled to the trending page. Nobody on Hive is entitled to that kind of visibility.

To think so, is to delude yourself.

Do you actually lose visibility?

• Ask your followers whether they can read that post with 0 rewards.
  If they can read it without problems, you are not being silenced.
• Ask your followers if they can share it.
  If they can share your post without any problems, you are not being silenced.

The sheer fact that this so-called "censorship" is being so widely talked about all around Hive proves there is no actual censorship, or suppression therewithin.

I thank you for reading.