I don't agree with that assesment because there is an infinite amount of arguments to be made about why something is off topic. I understand that it could be considered censorship, but if you say that, then upvotes are censorship too. Upvotes elevate certain comments to prominence above others. If enough like minded comments are posted it will drown out the ones that aren't upvoted. I understand the argument, I just don't think it's enough. Downvoting is an integral feature of voting sites. It's not a "worst case scenario" option.