The Emotional Cost of Downvotes on Hive

I came across a comment earlier that broadened my perspective on the negative effects of downvoting currently happening on Hive.

For those who are new to the platform, the "downvote" feature is intended to adjust the rewards a post may receive by the end of the 7-day payout period. Essentially, a post’s reward isn’t final until it actually pays out. Within that 7-day window, the reward can still be adjusted... either through unvoting or reducing the upvote amount by the curator, or by someone downvoting the post to lower its potential payout.

For those who believe this is how the system is meant to work, they view it simply as a way to adjust the post’s reward.

However, the content creator or author may see it differently. From their perspective, downvotes often feel personal or discouraging. Most content creators view downvoting as a negative aspect of Hive.

If you're wondering why content creators might view downvotes negatively, it's because of how they're presented on the frontend. Downvotes are often perceived as a negative judgment on a post; a post that someone has poured their time, effort, and passion into. The symbols used reinforce this impression: a red color, a minus sign, a broken heart icon, and a visible reduction in rewards.

No wonder people take it personally and feel aggravated by it.
This is largely due to poor design, with very little consideration given to user experience or the emotional impact on authors. Even veteran authors on the platform complain, vent, and feel frustrated about receiving downvotes, despite downvoting others themselves. This creates a toxic cycle of retaliation: downvote wars, where hate breeds more hate, leading to an unproductive use of the blockchain's resources.

It becomes a never-ending cycle of exchanging downvotes and resentment, making us no different from users on mainstream social media platforms.

I used to believe that this platform was different from mainstream social media. But over time, I’ve realized that we, as humans, have brought the same behaviors with us. Whether centralized or decentralized, the platform may change, but our attitudes toward each other often remain the same. We've simply rebranded it without truly shifting how we engage.

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If you read through the comment, the content creator didn’t even mention anything about the rewards being removed from their post. Instead, they used words like hostile, nullifying, demotivating, dislikes, and hate.

They even proposed a way to block downvoters from viewing their posts or accounts. They simply want to prevent interaction with downvoters, which makes sense because they don’t feel safe being downvoted. It feels personal to them.

Quoting the last part of their comment:

"If they hate me, literally do not want to see me and do not want me to exist, then let me disappear for them, and I will create for those who wish me well."

This statement is incredibly impactful and meaningful, especially considering they didn’t even mention anything about rewards or the financial impact of downvotes. They just want to create for people who genuinely appreciate their content. But now, because of the actions of downvoters, they feel so demotivated that they no longer feel safe posting on the platform.

Ultimately, they are simply asking for a safe space where they can interact with those who value their work.

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At the end of the day, creators simply want to feel safe, respected, and valued for their work. When downvotes are perceived as hostile rather than constructive, it discourages genuine expression and weakens the community. If we want Hive to thrive, we must foster an environment where creators feel empowered to share — not silenced by fear.

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