downvotes have their place, they are designed to not only combat bad behaviour but also to counter posts people believe have excessive rewards pending. I agree with you that they should be used with some thought and even caution, they have their value.

There is a mindset on the platform that the moment that rewards appear on a post they below to the creator. They don't, they are subject to change until the full 7 days has run out. That change can be from upvotes, downvotes, change in steem value etc, but they are subject to change.

When we can manage to change that mindset, then upvotes and downvotes will be seen more as the ying and the yang of the process. I understand Reddit has an upvote and downvote process. It doesn't get reacted to the same as it doesn't involve payout but the intent is similar... to churn up the better content.