Thank you for this informative post, @gmuxx.
Do you really think downvotes will be perceived better than flags? And that they are better than flags? I don’t know. I’m overly sensitive, I’m sure, but I will feel awful the first time and every time someone downvotes a post of mine. And even though I put heart and soul into my content, I’m sure it will happen. A downvote could mean anything from disagreement to disapproval to someone just having a bad day, or not believing that the topic is worthy content for Steemit. I write fiction and topics about fiction, and as we know some people just don’t think it belongs here. And some people think only certain types of fiction belong here. They might not flag it, eg suggesting it’s actually offensive, but they might consider downvoting because they don’t like it and personally or professionally disapprove. Hmm. It worries me.
Long discussed topic. Everyone has their own feelings about it. But it really doesn't matter if you call it a flag or downvote since they both do the same thing. I think it might be better to have the flag in the corner since that might prevent some of the "bad day downvotes".
It’s got to be tough to figure out the best way to help the community support quality content. I do think it’s important to have a mechanism in place to allow the community to unsupport content that is a poor use of the platform. I certainly don’t have any answers about the best way. I’m sure you’re right that a flag and a downvote are basically the same thing. I guess I just fear people may use a downvote the way they might use a sad face on Facebook. It will be interesting!
It's most useful for spam control. Other than that, if I don't like it, it just doesn't get a vote.
I totally agree. That’s my approach too. Although I have yet to flag anyone. Can I see myself more freely downvoting spam? Yeah, I can. To @gmuxx’s point.