That image of a thumbs down next to Hive logo is quite simple but reflects a very negative image doesn't it? A visceral feeling of revulsion perhaps. However, this post is not about how downvotes are bad, whales are ruining the Hive or many other bla blas. Downvotes are a useful tool, and it should be the right of any stake holder to downvote any post they want to their heart's content if their voting power allowed them.
That last part is what this is about, the downvote voting pool and why it shouldn't exist and all voting should be tied to one pool.
We are all told that Hive Power is our stake on the chain. It let's us vote and participate in governance. But is it true? In my opinion, the free downvote pool invalidates other's stake on the chain. If someone can freely invalidate someone's vote without a cost to them, this is certainly an attack on expression of their stake. However small or however big.
If you can adjust a post's rewards freely because you did not agree with how much that post earned, that is an attack on stake of all the people that voted on that post.
But people auto-vote and it is garbage content, it is stolen content yadda yadda. Doesn't matter, those votes came from their stake. If they are not prudent with their votes, it isn't your right to prevent their expression of stake without a cost to you. (Of course, at the moment it is due to how the blockchain works. This is a discourse on why it shouldn't be that way.)
And all this comes to Power in the end. Free downvotes create an asymmetric stake power, a powerful Hive stakeholder can destroy the stake expression of others at no cost to themselves. If you don't see problem with this and how it undermines everything this chain stands for then there is nothing I can say that will change your mind. Powers that be probably would not give up this power. When the downvotes are free, it becomes easier to downvote for "reward amount disagreements" because it doesn't cost anything for the downvoting party, and that is asymmetrical nature of it, how stakes can easily be invalidated.
Thanks for reading. I hope that my view gives you different perspective on downvotes. Personally, I haven't seen anyone discuss this nature of the free downvote pool on chain. How it can become tool of oppression of stake expression in the hands of someone malicious. Basically an attack on stakeholders baked into the chain.
See you in a next post whenever™️
