Hive Community Downvote Clubs

Dear SoMee Community,

We are writing to address a serious issue that has been raised by a valued member of our community, Madam AK. Madam AK has been facing an ongoing problem with repeated downvotes on Hive, which has led to an unjust decrease in her reputation score, and subsequently, her posts have been muted by default.

Firstly, we would like to express our deep concern and empathy for Madam AK and others who may be experiencing similar issues. As a platform, we highly value the contributions of our users. Madam AK has been a supportive and active participant in our community, and her efforts have always been well-documented and in line with best practices.

This situation has highlighted the existence of 'downvote clubs' on Hive, which are groups formed by some influential users, or 'whales', who use their voting power to penalize other users they disagree with, leading to an unfair environment.

While we believe that the essence of a decentralized platform like Hive is to provide every user with a voice, it is clear that these 'downvote clubs' are challenging this principle. Despite the content of these downvoted posts not violating any rules or terms of Hive, these groups are using downvotes as a tool to silence others.

However, it is important to emphasize that as the SoMee team, we do not have the authority to control or influence Hive's internal policies, systems, or the actions of its users. Hive is an independent platform with its own governance and community standards.

Nevertheless, we are not powerless. We strongly recommend those who are facing similar challenges to utilize the tools provided by Hive:

• Report the issue to Hive Watchers
• Join the Hive Watchers Discord for support
• Rally community support by posting about your experiences on Hive and other front ends

These tools are designed to handle issues such as these, and we encourage our community members to use them actively.

We believe in our partnership with Hive and have faith in their commitment to providing a fair platform for all users. While we cannot directly intervene in Hive's internal processes, we trust the effectiveness of their community self-regulation tools.

In conclusion, while we as the SoMee team are limited in the direct action we can take, we stand by you and offer our support within our capabilities. We understand the gravity of the situation and appreciate your understanding and patience as we navigate through this together.

Thank you for your ongoing support and for being an integral part of our SoMee community.

--Phillip