I’m going to say this because I think it’s ridiculous that I can no longer fully participate in a community I actually came here to participate in simply because enough people disagreed with my opinion.
I supported a premier vendor on this forum that I personally chose to use and had a positive experience with. Apparently, some people didn’t like that. That’s completely fine — disagree with me, challenge what I said, share a different experience, or tell me why you think I’m wrong. That’s literally what a discussion forum is for.
But when people pile on downvotes simply because they don’t like an opinion, and those downvotes push someone into negative karma to the point that they lose the ability to participate normally, the system stops filtering out trolls and starts filtering out unpopular opinions.
That’s a terrible way to encourage honest discussion.
I’m not asking anyone to agree with my choice of vendor. I’m not claiming my experience invalidates anyone else’s. I’m saying I should be able to share my own experience and opinion without being labeled a bot or as shilling leading to effectively losing my voice in the community because a group of people decided they didn’t like what I had to say.
If someone is scamming, spamming, lying, harassing people, or deliberately spreading misinformation, moderate them. Absolutely.
But disagreement should be answered with discussion — not by using the karma system to make somebody unable to participate.
A community about peptides and vendors should WANT different experiences and perspectives, including positive experiences with vendors that some members don't like. Otherwise, what's the point of having a discussion forum at all?
You don't have to agree with me. I just think I should still be allowed to participate fully in the forum.