Put @freezepeach Out of Business!

The other day I announced @freezepeach, the flag abuse neutralizer. For such an ambitious project, I could have never guessed the amazing response I would get; over 250 views and 91 comments which got it ranked #1 in total comments for new users according to @arcange's Hit Parade! Despite using the introduceyourself tag, the vast majority of the comments constituted actual engagement. As the praise, healthy criticism, and skepticism began pouring in, it became clear that this idea had struck a nerve in the heart of the community, which is exactly what I had hoped.

This is the beginning of a conversation desperately needed in the community. When looked at through the perspective of our current environment, it's easy to miss the full implications of the flagging/downvote feature, because right now we actually have some really good guys that make up the vast majority of SP on the platform doing great things.

If you think steemit is going to stay this size forever, there's absolutely nothing to worry about. The downvote, as it is right now, will not be the end of steemit. But, if you think steemit is destined to grow big enough to attract the attention of multinational corporations, governments, and other big-moneyed interests, then it isn't hard to imagine how the downvote feature can become a tool to control the narrative and doom the platform to stagnation.

@freezepeach is a stop-gap; it is only addressing a symptom of a deeper problem. Maybe if there were many other services like it, all working towards similar goals, it could be a permanent solution. Realistically though, @freezepeach seems to only be a temporary measure. There is a very real chance of some new whales popping up that make the ones we have now look like minnows. There seems to be a lot of steem floating around in limbo from the early days, and even our benevolent god-king @ned (PBUH) has been known to power down quite a bit. In fact, there's no shortage of avenues that could be taken to gain a hold on the very soul of steemit.

When you're deciding the rules of the game, you have to imagine yourself at the bottom of the pecking order.

This is why I want you to put @freezepeach out of business. The downvote feature is ripe for abuse, and this is the start of a conversation that is sorely needed. We need a solution that the devs, witnesses, and the community can get behind which will effectively end the need for such a service. Some have suggested ending flags all together, while others are bit more cautious about the implications of that idea. We need to think outside the box to create a mixture of features that solves this dilemma, and do it in a way that gets the community behind it.

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I had hoped to present an idea to replace flags that I've been fleshing out for the past week, but other more pressing matters have forced me to put that off for at least the time being.

In the meantime, I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter. Please comment all your opinions about the @freezepeach service, discussion about the implications of controlling narratives with downvotes, ideas on how to solve plagiarism and spam while effectively removing the downvote, or anything else that may you want to add.