It's important to note that it is unknown how much of the new available downvote pool will be used
...and where do you see, within this page, which is supposed to be an open debate (debate means all points of view should have the opportunity to argue their beliefs) comments that deserve downvoting?
Since it has happened, it means we are supposed to feel intimidated and shut up?
That is the new steemit?
There are plenty of comments that may deserve downvoting to remove rewards. Especially when it is low effort trolling, or just plain negativity. Then I think any stakeholder who cares for the platform and experience of the users who add value to Steem should downvote it to remove rewards and make sure it is instead returned to those to bring value.
That being said, I'm completely against big stakeholders being able to hide comments through downvotes, and think that part of steemit is not doing any good. Lastly, I don't know why people would be afraid to comment because of downvotes. It is not like not earning anything on a comment makes you lose something?
In any case, the main use for downvotes will be the many self voters and abusers who look to get away with voting on spammed low effort content/comments. Of which there are plenty.
I asked you specifically about comments here, in this discussion.
As for calling it trolling or negative...isn't that a matter of opinion? If I disagree with you, I am being negative or am trolling? Even if a number of other posters consider the points made valid and they reward the poster?
It sounds to me like a disrespect of others, since you are indirectly claiming that only your own opinion is valid and deserving of being upvoted.
It's indeed all subjective and downvotes are not meant to be anything other than the opposite of an upvote where token holders express their opinion on what deserves more attention versus less.
It doesn't have to be trolling or negative. For instance, when @knircky just gave a full downvote to my comment I'm sure it mostly reflects his desire to see criticism of the fork get more attention and rewards, and thus downvote anything else above it that he disagrees with. That is fine, and how the curation system is intended to work.
I don't know if he's aware of the fact that I completely agree with his concerns though, and that my positive comment was not there to speak in favor of the fork, but rather to state that regardless of it we need more stake being used to vote good content and retain users, and that the changed rules whether you like them or hate them is a chance to reset bad habits and try to do things better.
Yes... but then you Upvoted your own post .... after the downvote to Protect your investment in your post as well as your Rewards on your own Post.
While also writing this:
I see several comments which are over-rewarded mostly due to self-voting (I already downvoted one at my own expense since there are no free downvotes yet, and I may downvote others if I see them too). It isn't that the comments are bad necessarily, but when some people see the reward pool as a personal feeding trough the result is that everyone suffers from it.