RE: Although subjectively downvoting posts to zero is anathema to me, the Layer 1 ability to do so must remain (for now at least)

It is difficult to accept you agree with the last line given that two hours earlier you had berated someone else for socially engaging with the post beyond pressing the vote button (to be fair, I am not saying the attempt ended up productive).

Staying on the topic of over-rewarding while avoiding cluttering the convo you are referencing, I decided to follow your advice on enjoying small things in life and upvoted the comment you considered over-rewarded. It might not be worth $20 to people who prefer makeup tutorials, flat earth or particle physics but that does not make downvoting it morally acceptable (whether it is 20->0 or 5000->4999) as long as the system is set up (knowingly or incidentally) so that challenging the DV is disproportionately more costly than casting the DV.

Is it morally acceptable to DV a comment that earns $1 for posting "I am in" in a giveaway thread? I do not know. It is still valuable to two accounts (which hopefully translates to two people). I think it is not but I understand I am taking a moral risk whenever I DV it.

You do the same with your DVs so I whenever I disagree with them (verbally - I wish I could do more but I cannot), it does not mean I disrespect your opinion nor your stake. I am open to be voted out of the platform if my POV is not compatibile with the rules. I am actually happy to get an honest feedback like that and move on, that is how life works.

Clarification: azircon has never DVed me IIRC, my reputation value was set up by one single account unrelated to this thread (although I got some more DVs that are not significant for that) and trostparadox had honestly tried to counter the DV before he concluded that "I deserved it".

For a legitimate content creator on a healthy platform, receiving a subjective DV is a blessing as it makes regular people feel bad for them and the emotions are going to fuel a back-fire. Hive 25.0 is not healthy platform because the "Countering DVs costs money" signs are on every wall. People challenging DVing in general while deriving their arguments from the specifics of the current flawed system are fooling themselves. Fingers crossed for Hive 26.0.

Quick note in case TP happens to read this: "Guarding the reward pool" includes both "guarding against abuse" and "guarding against my opposition". It is not different to the way other forms of public funds are being governed in practice.

Sorry if it feels like a rant. I know noone is interested in that (neither am I). I am trying to pass views from the land of shadow-ban. I wish you guys could lend a negative reputation account for a month, it is a refreshing experience if you can stand it.