Sigh! I put years of my life into Hive, day in and day out, many hours a day. I wrote articles that took a week of research and editing, to get less than 10 cents. This went on for YEARS before I finally built up a following and got supported by a good group of people. So it really hurt to have someone nuke it all, just because a recent fork allowed him to do so, and he had a personal vendetta. The downvote cabal is trying to protect their racket and keep the gravy trail rolling. They care little for the platform, although of course they pay it lip service in public.
Blurt has more team players, ironically. A lot of people think it's a bunch of outcasts, misfits, and lone wolves. Actually, we get along quite well, and like you said, we have true freedom of speech!
I wish the Canadians (especially those who don't buy votes) would come to Blurt. It's lonely here for me!