then there needs to be a public service announcement pinned somewhere so everyone knows
That's not how any of this works. There isn't a central authority to dictate rules to everyone else. What we have are questions, perspectives, and opinions. I asked two questions and gave my opinion. I'm not mad or anything. I'm genuinely seeking perspectives and and various answers to my questions. I didn't say "This should be stopped" or anything like that.
I'm really happy to hear this contest has led to new friends and relationships. That's great!
As to the haijin/nextgen fiasco, that's a much deeper issue related to stake distribution and what people do with the Steem Power they have. There are no rulers here to force people to ask as they would prefer. I would prefer both of those people learn some non-violent communication and work out their differences as adults, but that's just my single preference among tens of thousands. I think a lot of blockchain resources are constantly wasted on many things, including that.
I don't necessarily know better than you because people have elected me as a witness. Anyone with database skills can query the public record however they like, not just witnesses.
As to the responsiveness of other witnesses, I can't speak on that either. Some provider super valuable functionality, programming, development, and more to the blockchain but don't reply or post much on Steemit. Stake holders with the most to lose recognize their value and give them their vote. I personally feel witnesses should be responsive (as I'm being here), but others don't spend their time that way.
Some people vote for me just because they like me, not because they think I provider more value than all the other witnesses. Ideally, we should all learn what creates value here and support witnesses who protect and grow that value.
Thanks mate @lukestokes I appreciate that answer and I see your angle. As a relative newbie (5 months in) you clearly have a greater understanding of the bigger picture here so I don't want to act or behave like I know better because I don't, but I do just feel that if this is what brings people to Steemit and gets them talking and gets them bringing new mates to interact correspond and add value, how can it be wrong? I give back currently more than I make, this is surely what it is all about, giving/uplifting/adding value to peoples lives which I truly feel this contest does?? In only 12 hours and for a rank of only 59 on this 8th contest we already have over 450 comments 800 views, I feel this to be a major achievement and I do apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused? I also would like to thank you for communicating your stance in a respectful and pleasant manner it is much appreciated and I do value your thoughts and opinions. ;)
The comments aren't very real though, right? They are mostly just noise. That, and people getting tagged with notifications which are not relevant to them is what I don't like. Others may enjoy it though. I'm just one opinion among many.
There really are tons of real/organic comments here many more than seen on many of the other posts from folks looking for a quick freebie 'nice post' 'good post' 'nice' 'thanks' etc we have seen em all, and interestingly hardly do they ever occur here (read the all above comments ;) ). Here people really do interact and contribute Luke, and I really would love for that to continue! ;) Oh and as for the people getting tagged, not one to date has yes been angry to the contrary actually :)
Yeah, it is just awkward or strange when these REAL and BIG problems are 'plaguing' steemit. And a positive resolution (stakeholder issue or not) has not been reached in over a month... But a tiny contest is nipped as if they are causing problems.
And I feel you... I spent over a month (or two) combating spam .... but it really got tiring. Most of the offenders were gaining/cheating for pennies or up to a couple dollars. But many of the big stakeholders and over half of the witnesses (as far as I could tell) were doing nothing to contribute toward steemcleaners or other efforts against spam and 'stealing from the reward pool'.
Plagiarism, upvote harvesting(through spam comments, etc), cicrcle jerks, etc are rampant on Steemit. I still contribute to steemcleaners if something blaring comes to my attention... but no one is paying me enough to fight for Steemit....if the big stakeholders themselves don't care.
So again... kinda awkward to nip at minnows when krakkens are out in the ocean doing harm.
But I am glad you are not mad. And I appreciate that you took your time to provide a reply or three.
Who nipped the contest? I just asked questions and gave my opinion.
I delegate witness rewards to multiple projects including steemcleaners. I agree, there are many "problems" (if we choose to view it that way) on Steemit related to the imbalance of Steem Power and how some with a lot of it can effectively do whatever they want without anyone else really being able to stop them. This is one (of many?) reasons Dan has publicly stated he doesn't like about what he helped create. If there were solutions we could implement that actually make sense and improve things for everyone, we would have implemented them. Until then, hopefully we'll learn useful things from SMTs and find something we can port back to STEEM.
If you have a reasonable suggestion for killing krakkens, I'm all ears. I don't know of any easy solutions.
Hi @lukestokes...
After reading through this whole thread (twice), I have to say IMO you are one of the more involved witnesses I have encountered. You could've just down voted the whole thing into oblivion, instead you took time to lay out your concerns. Thank you for your input, knowledge, and patients in some instances. I can only speak for myself but having someone advise to the potential problems with something is much appreciated - I proxy my witness vote but you would have likely earned it here.
That being said - I don't necessarily agree with some of your assertions but as I'm sure you also know (as a witness) its not really necessary to agree with someone in order to discuss it and find a solution. (my disagreement isn't really related to this contest, it's the assertion that Steemit is decentralized "DPOS", but i'll leave that for another conversation)
I was initially brought to this contest by someone tagging me and I not only liked it enough to stay, but enough to throw a couple $ at it - I never even considered the he potential for several of the issues you raised, and I will try to work with Craig to figure out a few changes. I'm sure we can figure something out where it is more focused - maybe eliminate indiscriminate tagging of people just because they are someones followers - It is called "tag a mate" after all...
As a fellow UP alum (IUP - probably a few or 20 years before you) I say thank you again...
Thanks. :) I was UPENN class of 2001. I'd love to know more of your thoughts on DPOS.
I prefer Archimedes, and Trump but what do I know, just kidding doc...Cheer$;)
Lol kill krakkens with love ;)
Hey brother - sorry I missed this one... Been busy as hell the last week - work never ends lately...
Lekka my buddy no worries really appreciate you poppin in though .. see we hit number 1 this week? Missed you.. Next week again it shall be.. Cheer$;)