Downvoting: a request

I'm relatively new posting here but I want to make a simple request: don't downvote. This is a discussion forum, not a popularity contest. As much as I like hearing from people that I agree with and that agree with me, what good does it do us to turn this forum into an echo chamber? I'm not so scared of hearing and debating opposing viewpoints that I can't even look at comments from those who think differently.

Personally, I upvote comments and threads that I think are particularly interesting and that I want others to see, but I never downvote. If they present an argument, then I try to counter it with facts and my logic. If they just provide an opinion with no backup or a snarky insult, then I either ignore it or challenge them to defend their statement. At least I'm giving them a chance. What they do with it is on them.

Wouldn't the best possible outcome of our discussions here to be outsiders - those who think we are wrong - to come here and open their minds to what we believe to be true? If we act like the closed-minded echo chamber we accuse other forums of being, I don't think we'll convince anyone.