We should just do whatever we think is best and respectful and not worry.

I think this approach tends to work on Hive for the most part because the community has a way of demonstrating what it likes and what it doesn't like. It rewards behavior it likes (votes), and in some cases punishes behavior it doesn't (downvotes or lack of vote). Hive is a free market afterall.

I think it only becomes a problem (for the individual) when a person does what they want, has a certain expectation for themself and the community regarding rewards, then gets angry when things don't go their way and they refuse to change their behavior based on the markets feedback.

I think problems arise when hubris and entitlement are at play. Luckily it's rare though.