I suggest to made a middle ground compromise and test it for 1 month and then re-evaluate:
- Change
min post lengthto 10, so people who really need to say “Thank you” can do it. - Increase the reaction icons to include at least a few ones that can help express gratitude
, congratulation 
or celebration 
After a month we can see how this resulted in the day to day discussion dynamics and see if other changes might be needed.
I’d hold any changes thinking on the #help-and-support category for now, because soon the voting plugin should be stable enough to test and can be evaluated with that different design/dynamic.
How does this sound to you all?