I don't like Discord. Discord servers can be filled with unsavory and disgusting activities (even downright safe spaces for harassment and extortion) and while I have used the browser version just to see what is happening with Hive on occasion, the app is troubling as far as privacy and security. Discord screams a lack of professionalism and there's too much ugliness. Slack can be bad too (like any other platform), but given the more corporate embrace of Slack... there's more of a likelihood that people will behave accordingly.
Each tribe should have more power as far as governance as opposed to an attempt of an overarching body that does not look out for the best interests of each tribe. I may make an alternate proposal to the Hivewatchers proposal to decentralize activities and leave plagiarism/quality issues to the tribes as opposed to a centralized body that is less knowledgeable of the topics. The matters of illegal stuff (exploitation, murder, abuse, etc.) can be overseen by a more centralized body, but tribes should be able to self-police in this regard. I want to open this up to @wil.metcalfe for thoughts because I know that Wil has expressed concerns on this matter.
Is self-voting bad? It really is miniscule and at some point, you're just going to stop doing it anyway. If your content is good, you're going to get the upvotes anyway - even if you're on a "global blacklist" (which is dubious). I don't get caught up in the language of casting aspersions like some others because the usage of certain terms can result in lawsuits and it's part of why Hivewatchers needs to be completely re-thought because of their centralized authority and the language/forum used. Concerns about plagiarism go out the window when you get served a lawsuit where a brand is seeking millions in damages because a few people decide to go out of their way to call a company or person a "scammer" without any regard for the consequences. It puts us all at risk and we cannot quarantine ourselves from it. Major stakeholders in Hive need to act more corporate... don't act like Twitter, Facebook or YouTube, but professionalism and carefulness of language goes a long way. Those with "authority" need to act like it and there must be protocols.
I probably will create a tribe/token in the near future (I'll be a part of DunkSocial still, don't worry!) and I would probably be tougher as far as discussion. I'd want to channel that message board energy to the tribe I am creating as opposed to what I see in much of Hive, where the content is thin and not much is actually discussed.
I see the opportunities of growing here on Hive for my brand(s), but I also am starting to see some of the problems and I want to help fix it so that I can deliver the content that you want.