First of all you're being way more defensive than you need to be. I'm giving feedback on a beta feature in your client. That's literally what beta testing is for. If you think I'm fuming with anger because of this, you're mistaken.
I simply feel your implementation makes too many assumptions and creates a worse UX for the broader Nostr ecosystem. I have explained my reasoning very clearly.
Not everyone uses Damus.
Not every client will implement your idea.
Not everyone uses Nostr the same way.
Most people who don't opt in won't even know if someone else has unless they exclusively access Nostr through your app.
Many people opt to use multiple Nostr clients and will see likes on others even if they don't on yours.
Removing the option to like only creates more noise in the feed as people reply/quote instead of just hitting a like button.