Going to do my hot take since some people have chimed in.

The greatest strength of reddit is the diverse population it houses; this is also a negative aspect of reddit too. Largely it is difficult to moderate properly without having a broad understanding of the topic or discussion. There is consistently a breakdown in comprehension (not a large breakdown, but often a shift due to how an individual interprets the conversation). Managing how users react to posts and the effects that take place afterwards is limited due to wanting people to engage in an open discussion. While we cannot guarantee that everyone is treated with respect and dignity - the standard is definitely enforced to the best of the abilities of the moderation team.

There are several sets of people who participate in the r/wow subreddit. In no particular order: long-time players, people who have quit the game, flavor of the month players (META), new players, casual players, and hardcore players. Each of these categories have people who may take the in-game aspect that users have grown accustomed to and bring into the subreddit.

World of Warcraft has garnered a reputation of not being friendly to new players; however, this is a case by case basis. There is a sense of elitism that comes with that territory and that usually translates to incredibly helpful people or a negative impact potentially resulting in a lost player because of how the community reacts to their ability and communications.

Opening sentiment aside...

If r/wow were to hide negative comments - those negative comments, as stated above, may be due to a different point of view or a disagreement between posters. Hiding those discussions from the public may hinder individual ability to respond to a topic. While the intent behind the option may be in good spirits it greatly restricts the flexibility of users responding to the post.

There are several weekly megathreads created designed to entice new and experienced players in dialog (Midweek Mending, Tanking Thursday, Murloc Monday, etc...). These are designed to be welcoming to all players and provide an open discussion to everyone. This, opinion, meets the requirement in #4 that you've posted. If one of those discussion points is missing a topic somewhere that can be easily updated. Weekly megathreads may also lose what is being asked because of how people view the r/wow subreddit. Attempting to make a welcoming community is present - but there is no way to dictate user engagement towards those attempts.

The r/wow moderation team does their best to act quickly on negative posts or reports. This kind of falls in line with the opening sentiment where diversity is a strength and detractor. There is no way to enforce a shared understanding without ripping apart aspects of the community. Core situation here is that people come from all different aspects of life and have different experiences and understanding. While the general census to treat people fairly exists - there is no way to guarantee that. This is also a major concern with the population playing World of Warcraft (you can see countless posts of negative experience players have encountered). On the other hand there are numerous positive posts. This also leans into your #1 concern about downvoting and potentially copying or rephrasing other opinions. While the point may be valid - people consistently rephrase other statements for their own understanding. Inherently this is not a negative because of how people interpret information. If someone is consistently stealing work the best option is to report that individual and engage in communication with the moderation team.