I do agree that downvoting sometimes has a chilling effect on Reddit, but that doesn't seem relevant to the discussion on social capital accumulation and the domination of a platform by these traditionally socially powerful users, at least in the same way that other platforms are.

The point was to discuss how Reddit, Hacker News, and other message boards utilizing pseudonymous voting are not monopolized by brands, celebrities, and businesses in the same way that Twitter and Facebook are. The discourse is still more egalitarian than the alternatives, and it isn't these traditional cultural leaders that dominate discussion on Reddit.

This isn't to speak on issues of astroturfing, echo chambering, or misinformation, but these aren't relevant to the discussion, and aren't unique issues to Reddit.

> The point was to discuss how Reddit, Hacker News, and other message boards utilizing pseudonymous voting are not monopolized by brands, celebrities, and businesses in the same way that Twitter and Facebook are.

How much of that is simply due to the nature of the product?

Reddit would very much like to have the brands, celebrities, and businesses, and influenced their change to allow users to post to their own profile pages.

I think its relevant. a consolidation of opinion (via self-censorship) also leads to a consolidation of products and choice, since alternative product and companies die due to unpopularity.

For example I think reddit played a MASSIVE role in the rise of PC gaming in the last 5 years. It's more indirect, admittedly.