Hi @galenkp, I think you and I don't always see eye to eye, which is fine because, in my opinion, differences are what make the world a stronger place. Regardless, you seem like a person with integrity. On the one hand, I do understand what you did here and why. You explained it, and, anyhow, it was obvious.
However, I feel that you might have missed a dimension of the situation, and maybe you didn't. In case you did, though, I thought I would point it out from my perspective.
@xplosive has mentioned on several occasions that he is on the autistic spectrum, so I don't think that is a secret. Do you know much about that spectrum of conditions? I ask because I have both training and experience with this. I had a friend who had Asperger's syndrome, for example (which is no longer called Asperger's because psychiatry loves to change things).
On the one hand, my friend was highly intelligent. He had a Masters in Statistics. His vocabulary exceeded mine (and mine is reasonable). He remembered literally everything. So, no one can accuse him of stupidity. However, my friend was socially extremely unintelligent, and it was absolutely not his fault. I am not saying this is who @xplosive is. I am saying that if you are on the spectrum, being socially appropriate and noticing and accepting social cues is extremely challenging.
For me, university physics is extremely challenging. I really have difficulty understanding it. I took some courses in it, and I am pretty sure the Prof thought I was an idiot. However, I tried because I was interested in learning and expanding my horizons.
I think it is laudable that @xplosive makes such an effort in a medium (social media) that cannot possibly be his element because it is not the element of anyone on the spectrum. It is, I believe, easier than face to face interaction, but still.
I think it is good that you took time out of your life to explain the problem. There was probably a shock value to removing the rewards for this post even if it does seem very mean-spirited. Maybe it is a sort of "tough love" that will have value in the long run. You have probably noticed that I am soft hearted and such gestures are not in my nature. It is probably good that you were so blunt.
Nonetheless, I think it is also important that there is room on the blockchain for diversity. We have room on the blockchain for people stating their beliefs, some of which we disagree with. I think it is great that you pinpointed the exact things that are causing @xplosive problems. I hope it will help. I hope you remove the downvote because I think the message was received. That is just my opinion.
Either way, I think it was counteracted by others. I just wanted to offer a perspective because I think it is easy to judge.
I found it remarkably easy to get annoyed by my friend who had Asperger's. I got irritated with him constantly. I had to remind myself that he did not decide to repeat himself. He did not decide not to understand my facial expressions or my sarcasm. At last, I just was brutally honest with him. If he made me mad, I said, "You are making me mad." That seemed to work well.
My friend's girlfriend was not so understanding. She was constantly furious at him for reasons that would be obvious to anyone. Except him. I had to explain it to him. When I explained it, I had to prove it using examples he provided to me. If you have not had a friend who is on the spectrum, it is hard to understand. Repetition, frustration, and a bit of obsession -- these are part of the territory. If you really can't handle that, wouldn't it be kinder to mute @xplosive than to downvote?
I get that you might think he has a negative impact on the blockchain, but there are positive and negative things on Hive. @xplosive is not even in the ballpark of the most negative things, and I think we would all do better to just focus on the positive.
That being said, maybe this downvote (which I still hope you will remove) did help @xplosive to understand how to fine tune his posts so as not to irritate people. I think many of us, like @savvyplayer, tend to read "around" the negativity and repetition. If @xplosive can edit those out, it would definitely improve his writing. If he can take your suggestion to write on new and different topics, that is a good idea also.
I notice @xplosive's post about amateur radio last week, for example, was very successful.
Wishing you the best regardless of your decision,
Harlow