There's a quote attributed to Peter Maurin: "We must make the kind of society where it is easier for people to be good." I think, in the case of downvotes, it'

There's a quote attributed to Peter Maurin: "We must make the kind of society where it is easier for people to be good." I think, in the case of downvotes, it's easy for them to be used for reasons other than their intended purpose because they are the least time consuming way to express displeasure, and there is virtually no downside to using them for that purpose. It would obviously add complexity to have a separate mechanism for voicing disagreement with an argument presented in good faith. But it might make it easier for people to use downvotes appropriately for cases where the person is not acting in good faith or violating the forum's rules.