I agree that we need more people here and we've been failing at achieving that. Many who join don't stick around. That may be down to wrong expectations. They can't expect to earn a lot from little effort anyway.
I welcome discussion of these topics.
I know anti-abuse is a contentious topic. I've been involved with it (not with HW) and it is a dirty job, but it needs doing. There are those who just want to cheat the system, but others will just make mistakes or not understand how others expect them to behave. They ought to be steered to a better path rather than being dictated to. No one group gets to set the rules, but it can seem like some shadowy cabal is trying to keep the newbies down. I'm not sure downvotes are as big an issue as some make out anyway and most never get them.
Thank you for the input! Do you still do anti-abuse stuff now? Regardless, it'd be interesting to understand some of your approaches (understanding that methods might best be kept secret to make it harder for people to try to circumvent).
I do less of it now, but if someone lets me know of a post that is earning by immoral means then I may add my downvote. I have to use it with care as others follow the trail. Doing this can bring consequences and I've had plenty of retaliation. I still think it's worth doing. I give a lot more in rewards than I remove.