That is very interesting to read, because some ETH whales said exactly that to me. That idea that Hive "Reputation" can be diminished is super scary Social Credit Score stuff they don't want engage with.
I personally hold a slightly more balanced view on that. Social Ranking is very innate to the humane experience and it is not categorically bad to copy the human experience towards the digital world, even if it is cruel and unfair sometimes.
My concern is that, it amounts to a Social Credit Score, and the fact that you just said that there are people who don't want to even engage on that, says a lot. People don't want to admit that it's the same thing, just on a different platform :/
We have to keep up the good fight. We have to keep the community alive around the core values and just push forward. Friends become enemies and enemies become friends. I've seen some things in life. Speak the truth, never back down, aim upwards and keep pushing forward.