I will refrain from opining on things I don't know about, but will whole heartedly agree that going overboard with flair is not good for all the reasons listed. Love my tinfoil pepe, but agree with OP, some threshold should be crossed to earn. I don't much care for the little messages, those should be for mods only IMO.

There is a fine line between shill crushing and censorship, and it has been crossed more than I'd like to see. I am in favor of letting the Anons use their down votes to self regulate. I want down votes with styling on if my opinion matters for anything. Sidebar rules are enough, mods start enforcing opinion rules I get riled. "Low energy" for example is too fucking arbitrary. It's the little things that sway the tide in a battle for hearts and minds. Censorship is never a good look, nor are mods who talk down, belittle, and insult. To be honest I'd prefer a board where I hardly notice mods even exist.

Normie friendly isn't a driving concept in my life, but it isn't my board. Hope you all get it worked out. Infighting sucks to see.