It seems that HIVE tends to equate quality with the length of posts.
Some do. However, there is also something to be said about adding weight to a position. For my content, I want it to feel like a written podcast perhaps - where people are listening to the conversations in my head, parsed through my observations with others.
It will be offputting to see a downvote if you've just joined a new platform.
Probably. But there are plenty of people who have been here ages that should know better, but don't.
Why use a negative tool to zero out the votes when the lack of "likes" aka "interaction via votes" does the same thing.
Because there is financial incentive. Ignoring shoplifters doesn't discourage shoplifting.