I just signed up this evening, after reading and researching this site for two days. It seemed like a pretty open, friendly, welcoming community, and a good place to write freely without being concerned about my opinions offending anyone. I made some comments on articles I liked (I haven't written my first post yet), and a comment I made on an article I genuinely liked was downvoted by the author of the article! I have no idea why. All I did was tell him how helpful it was to people like me who are new to the platform. Now, I'm wondering if it's as friendly here as I thought. It's not a very great first experience on Steemit. I don't feel very welcomed. I have no idea what I did wrong to make him downvote my positive comment. So, I understand your frustration. I'm still going to write here, but I know now not everyone will be friendly.