The meta-topic here (being danced around) is (1) the ability to <downvote articles> does not exist by design; and (2) flagging is an order of magnitude more pow

The meta-topic here (being danced around) is (1) the ability to <downvote articles> does not exist by design; and (2) flagging is an order of magnitude more powerful than a downvote, in reducing the prominence of a discussion. Hence (3) a mis-use of (2) is arguably ~abusive.