I agree with the idea that downvoting just seems nasty and mean. I have had a few posts downvoted, and I've scoured them looking for the offensive thing I might have said or the egregious grammatical errors or flawed logic, and I've always come to the conclusion that the downvoter just didn't like what I'd written or drawn. (As an amateur artist, I like to have fun making pictures, but my art isn't slick or professional. That bugs some people who, apparently, feel I shouldn't post "bad" art---even when I think it's fun or funny...)
Personally, I'm not interested in a lot of stuff that I see on Steemit, but I just figure, "It's not meant for me." But, if a person (a nasty person) is given FREE downvotes every day, what's to stop them from just going around and being awful? Downvoting every sports post they see, if they don't like sports, or downvoting every post just because it's written in a language they can't read? What's to stop them from deciding that their opinion is the ONLY one that should be expressed on this platform? We trade a Facebook or YouTube algorithm for a "mob-rules" community, and any minority taste or opinion will be driven away. (Which is shitty, if you ask me.)
A downvote pool seems, to me, like it's going to empower people to be more mean and nasty, and (at the extreme) cause the community to splinter into warring tribes.
I'm fundamentally against downvoting. If I'm not interested in something or I don't like a post, I don't reward it with an upvote, but who am I to say that someone else's interests or artistic efforts or life experiences (which they felt strongly enough about to share) don't belong? (Plagiarism is a different issue, and coming from an academic background, I'm thoroughly against stealing other people's work without giving proper credit---but I still probably wouldn't downvote even if I caught someone red-handed... But I'm not an enforcer, by nature. I like to play, not punish.)
My two cents...
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I used to lecture at a tertiary level, so I'm totally on-board with the issue of plagiarism. There was never a case where the plagiarism was intended, and once a student was told of their error and how to prevent it, they never do it again.
Some actions just have a nasty edge to them. Downvoting is one such action.
Disagreeing with someone is fine; that becomes a source of engagement, debate, and conversation (although that can deteriorate too).
If you don't like something that someone posted.... move on. Stop following them. Mute them. You don't have to engage with someone/something you don't like.
'd love to see a discussion happening on the palnet forum here, so come on over...