Yeah down voting was much better. It read better to someone that clicked on a post
Having it down voted would tell the reader that the topic/post is generally disliked, but having it outright flagged makes it seem like forum readers are just trying to censor anyone they disagree with, which is not the case
You can disagree without trying to silence the other party, and the forums need to allow that
How about neither is a good option. Just because you do not agree does not mean you need to flag OR downvote. Either add your comments or ignore and move on. Downvoting was terrible and so is flagging.