I don't dislike negative feedback, and as I stated that can still come in the form of a comment which in fact is more valuable.
Being new to steemit you may not have seen what happens when someone gets their post dinged for something and they suddenly lose 90% of the money it was telling them they were going to be awarded. This results in very real anger. He a downvote is more than just showing your disapproval it removes money. If your reputation is higher than the person you downvote you also can significantly decrease their reputation. Over OPINION.
I don't down vote anyone because I disagree with them. I may comment at length, and yes I do up vote people I disagree with quite often as well.
Without downvote it is not "agree or don't speak". I comment on a lot of articles I don't up vote. That actually gives someone something to think about and I did not steal any money from them by doing it. It can be argued it is not stealing. Yet that is the perception of most people that it happens to if they haven't thoroughly researched the platform. Whether they stick around and learn, or whether they get really angry and blast steemit.com across the other social media zones to to this theft, ponzi, scam (words they like) is really a coin toss.
A downvote is far less valuable in terms of expressing dislike of something than a comment that everyone can read. Yet the comment is words, and had no reputation or monetary hit associated with it.
EDIT: Steem power versus votes. Your votes are tied to VESTS which steem power is some version of that. To see how many vest you have go to https://steemd.com/@brs there is an area named vests.
I know how many steem power a vest is is subject to change during the beta.
The loss on income with a down-vote may be more to do with the artificial way up-votes create income. I am not so sure if some deserve $10,000 Steem. Some do, most don't. So we cry over a loss of income we may never have really deserved.
Some I follow here I followed on YouTube and now I can directly encourage them vs the advertising based system over there. So I don't really find it strange they have a good income here. I was encouraged by a guy allegedly from Africa that was living on $1 a day and thru Steemit he built up $40K Steem. If true this certainly will level the playing field around the world. But I think all positive with no negative is a bad thing. Some should loose their perceived income on a post. Steem is artificial just like fiat currency. You can't have winners without losers.
The issue is that all the ripples need to get flushed out. The no looser SJW mentality hurts far more than it helps.
If I (learn how to) write posts that fits the magical Steemit formula then I should earn big, and because no one down-vote, once earned it is never lost. Really? I would just be following a script like the music industry does. Imagine how this platform will change once the JB and KKs of the world discover it with there billion followers. Argh. I want down-votes just in the event of that.
I think we need to get away from the belief we are entitled to our entitlements. Earn it (up-votes and comments), be criticized (down-votes and comments), and learn how better to express your (especially my) thoughts. I think Steemit posts are more like an auction item whose price can go up and down. If only one person in the end could own it then the bids would only go up. But if we all own the result, who knows where it will finally sell at. Maybe up, maybe zero, maybe worth millions.
Also I think of Steem more like collective money that we are some how voting to give or take. Some feel while we may not have done much to earn it or grow it but feel they are entitled to it. I think that is the case for those who cry openly about loosing something they never really had in the first place.
Dang, the last paragraph sounded like Collectivism. I need to stop now before I hurt myself.