@dantheman

The problem in Steemit relies on the notion of the flag as a form of censorship. The tool itself is what distorts the meaning of the word in the way its being used. In the future this can monopolize tag whales.

A strong voter can destroy the reputation of someone else just because they desire so — either becaue they disagree or simply because they want to silence the competition. This is not necessarily something a free society entails since most new celebrities that will join Steemit will already have the upper hand in respect to followers and content.

It is much similar to a strong shareholder of a major social media company dictating what people can and what cannot say. Perhaps a downvote button should be much more useful, while flags should be reviewed if they accumulate a certain amount (e.g 3). Even then, someone should check if the content is flag worthy. If it's not then the perpetator should get the flag reflected negatively to their reputation. That should limit abuse significantly.