I don't want to get too mixed up in any sort of brawl here but I have two things to say (and I know that others have basically said the same sorts of things already):

• When someone posts something on the PM Discussion page to the effect of "Let's change the PM code thusly", monks who strongly disagree tend to downvote the node. It's sort of a form of voting on the idea. A lot of monks (although I'm sure not all) tend to do it.
• You can't see a node's rep until after you vote on it. I'm sure that a lot of the monks who downvoted it might not have burned the vote if they reallized it was already extremely negative... it's not a matter of conspiracy, it's just a bunch of individual reactions in a blind vote.

Last of all... look at what he was actually proposing in that node: it was silly, and obviously ill-thought-out. I hate to say it, but it also sounded whiny and bratty. (It was very obviously written by someone while they were in the midst of a temper tantrum.) I downvoted that node on the merits of that node, and nothing else. I've had nodes of mine downvoted before, and I didn't throw a hissy fit.

Anyway, I really, really don't intend this to sound inflamatory (not because I don't want to piss people off... but because that's just not what I'm trying to say), but the point is: downvotes happen. It's a shame if someone feels chased away by them, but they happen. It is seriously sad if ptkdb decided to leave over this, but I don't feel guilty about it, and I don't think that the community should, either.