well said likedeeler-- many great points!

Everybody must have the right here to voice an opinion, however weird in the eyes of others, without having to live in fear of being flagged for that.

agreed!

and nothing should be off-limits, because that would lead only to some form of self-censorship

that's at the core of it, i think. a difference in opinion is not the reason for a flag-- that's just plain censorship! and if steemit turns into an economy like that, it wont be the place we hope it can be. it wont reach its potential certainly to help build new inspiring structures and ideas for humans. we'll self-censor to fit into whatever the people with high VP want... or we'll leave. yuck!