Firstly I haven't read all the comments, mainly because I don't have two days to read, digest and formulate an opinion on every response, so if I repeat anything that's already been said, "Bite me".
As I said on Twitter in my response: "just downvotes some posts that seem over-rewarded and that is was nothing personal." What the actual fuck? Nothing personal? I'm apoplectic with rage at that statement. Of course, it's personal. It is personal to the individual that had their rewards wiped out through no fault of their own.
I'm also getting a little tired of this stock statement that's trundled out regular as clockwork of "Don't know how it works...." we do know how it works; it's not rocket science. You produce something, and if folk like it, they vote on it. If you're 'well in' with some big players, you're likely to get a good reward, and if not, you have to keep plugging away until you either get noticed (For the right reasons) or build up enough HP that people start sniffing around. Hive is promoted daily, relentlessly on other social media platforms as being a place where you get rewarded "Nobody pays you anything for your content on Facebook! Come and join Hive and get paid for what you produce." unless, of course, some utter low-life blows your earnings away because they feel you've earned too much.
I keep hearing this statement, "You can vote witnesses out" who's ever done that? And I know of one witness who downvotes anyone who says anything nice about Steem, so don't kid me. Witnesses are all nice people. They're people, for Pete's sake, and people can be utter shits when they want to be, especially if they effectively control the platform you are on either through coding or financial muscle or power.
You're absolutely right. Hive is the wild west; it is true freedom, and yes, if someone wants to bully another user by wiping out their rewards or even destroying their account simply because they can, then that's the price of freedom; it doesn't make it right, though and it doesn't mean that users cannot cry about that kind of piss poor behaviour. Is it just me that finds it weird that folk complain about Justin Sun stealing users money, and yet they think it's OK to wipe out rewards for no good reason and action, which is exactly the same thing, an individual has lost their rewards.
One big downvote is a big thing. It marks you out, and it's a blot on your account. "Ooh, I wouldn't vote for them. They had a massive downvote the other day." so I would like to apologise to @ultravioletmag. I don't know who you are, I don't follow you, I've never read anything you've written, but I'd like to apologise for the shabby behaviour you received. Let us hope everyone rallies around and supports you.
RE: The sky is not falling!