Thanks @steevc for the input. It sounds like there is a strong stigma against self-upvoting of comments which I was unaware.
If everyone who self-upvotes gets as much attention as I've gotten on this thread, the practice could certainly be diminished on Hive. I have taken note and support your efforts to keep curation honest and focused on rewarding the best content.
You sound like a reasonable chap and there has been a lot of interaction I see between you and several other abuse-fighters.
You are right in saying, 'It sounds like there is a strong stigma against self-upvoting of comments', and if you were not aware then that is fair enough.
We would rather have you on 'our side' than to cause conflict. It is in the best interests of HIVE, trust us.