Why would you then trust them with a downvote or flagging button?
> If lobste.rs wasn't invite only and didn't have the invitation tree
Maybe, maybe not. We don't have the evidence. Anyway, it's easy to get an invitation.
Because at least a downvote is silent. Without a downvote that energy just bleeds into more argumentative and off-topic discussion.
The problem is people complaining about downvotes. People need to just accept them as the cost of doing business here and move on. Complaining is only going to get you downvoted more.
That will happen anyway.
> People need to just accept them as the cost of doing business here and move on
As they apparently must accept comments, but the latter at least have a clear author, even if hidden behind a pseudonym in most cases. By the end of the day, the quality of the forum seems to depend on the quality and presence of the moderators.