I also don't like forced socialization but like the possibility of socialization being there, as a way to build team cohesion, disengage from work, etc.
This, however, doesn't mean that everyone uses these features correctly.
I see a lot of honest opinions and questions downvoted, and this turns threads into echo chambers.
I can't imagine why this could possibly get downvoted.
I feel like most downvotes are used to simply disagree though.
Sure, communities change, but it seems whenever I try to get folks onboard with "don't downvote to disagree" I get pushback from some admin, founder, senior community member that downvoting to disagree is Just Fine.
Edit: my preference is that, as you say, downvoting should be used for comments that don't add to the discussion.
Interesting! I didn't know there was both flagging and downvoting. I'd assume flagging works like reporting on Reddit.