Ask yourself: "Out of my own pocket, how much would I personally pay someone else for this same article I am publishing?"
Let us be honest. Most of us would not pay nothing. Fortunately/Luckily we do not have to pay out of our own pockets, when we reward others on the Hive blockchain.
That is exactly why it is so difficult for many to see the reasoning behind the downvote. Because voting seemingly doesn't cost us anything (it actually does*), we easily lose the healthy appreciation for honest work.
* The reason I don't think voting is free, is because we are currently doing, or have either done much of the work to cumulate our own voting power, or invested in it, or both.