For the system to be fair, there should be an appeals process within Steemit. Suggesting that people take up the matter in Steemit chat, as has been suggested, is missing the point. If Steemit has a "police force," then it should also have a judiciary. One of my posts was also flagged, and hidden, because I included a referral link that the bot considered a scam. So, an entire 1,000 word essay was hidden away from readers who might otherwise have upvoted it. I quickly found there was no way to appeal the hiding, short of using another website to file my complaints.
A simple warning would be sufficient. If a flagged post is not corrected after three reminders, then the bot could hide it away. Surely this is something that could be coded to be automatic.
Also, it would help if the police force understood what constitutes plagiarism and what does not.
Yup, I fully agree. A warning or notice would make most honest people change it if it was really something that goes against the spirit. But there seems to be a very light trigger finger in flagging and I feel too many people who bear no ill will are getting targetted. Thanks for your input!