I’m late to this response, but the way I look at it is this: My saying something idiotic or obnoxious today doesn’t change the fact that I said something thoughtful and lurve-worthy yesterday, and so it shouldn’t take away from the lurve other jellies gave me to reflect that moment. I don’t know that it makes sense to say “oops, you don’t actually deserve 10 points for post #179 because you behaved badly in post #180.”
But then, I have a strong bias against punitive measures, especially when other strategies are effective. And moderating is largely effective. So yes, like others, I think removing the response is enough.
I think that’s also why calling it “lurve,” and not points or score, is key. Setting up a system of lurve deductions, I imagine, would start to make it more transactional, more like a currency, more like a “here’s five points for wit, and here’s minus three points for lack of civility.” By contrast, lurve keeps track of something that can’t be confiscated, something that once given isn’t conditional or probationary or revocable.
I know that many people say lurve doesn’t matter, but I do enjoy getting it, and I do enjoy seeing my lurve count slowly go up. Breaking 8k has been a long time coming for me—for various reasons—and so it does mean something to me. There’s something about it being indelible, being only ever on the rise, that (at least to me) gives it the nice shiny smell of lurve.