You've got half of how Steem works. The half you like. Most people like.
There is another half. The half that allows for people to disagree with the potential rewards a post is going to receive. The rewards are not the person's until they are paid out, until then they are potential and any SP holder can disagree with the amount and reduce that by downvoting.
The disagreement with potential rewards doesn't have to be about the content. It could be the size of the rewards, the frequency of the postings receiving them or the fact that the rewards are generated by a very small number of votes rather than accumulating through a large number of voters upvoting to generate the reward. For instance, one vote giving $300 in rewards on a post is excessive for anyone. Multiply that by multiple posts in a day it goes over the top.
So, the system is working. It just needs to be working completely, not just the part that is liked.
You make a valid point. Downvotes targeting payout, rather than content does actually make sense. In my head it just seems more right if the system was made so that a dislike meant that you disliked the content and a like meant that you liked the content. It just feels wrong to dislike decent content just to limit the liking.
from a Facebook mindset .. what you're saying makes sense.
The difference is that on FB there is a centralized authority to deal with the real bad actors. On Steemit .. it is up to the community to deal with issues.
The joys of adjusting to a decentralized system.
'The joys of adjusting to a decentralized system.'
nicely put