Wow, sorry to here about this Brandon. I didn’t even realize downvoting affected the value of posts. This situation brings two ideas to mind.
For one, does this feel like the mafia to anyone else? With powerful enforcers shaking down the little guy for “protection.” Wouldn’t want any “accidents” to take place in your post, now would we?
Second, the way Steem power is acquired seems like it could use some work. Buying influence plays a big part in society and nobody likes it unless they can afford it. As a platform, couldn’t Steem it shift the power to content creators? Steem power should be weighed heavily to content output, number of views, followers, and repeat viewers.
Just a thought on how to actually police this kind of bullying. Do you think temporary nullification of an accounts steam power would be a good punishment? That way the account’s upvote or downvote would be 0 until they behave?