Hive is a blog platform built on a blockchain to prevent censorship and reward engagement with a cryptocurrency token system. Anyone can join, post anything they want, and curate posts however they want. One typically curates posts by upvoting, reblogging, and commenting, but downvotes are an option, too. How can you earn upvotes and feedback but avoid downvotes?
As an active manual curator myself, I advise against downvoting a post just because of disagreement with the content or dislike for the author. Disagreement should ideally foster discussion and debate in the comment section. If that doesn't work, you can mute people you find obnoxious. Instead, reserve your downvotes for people trying to game the system for profit through dishonesty or low-effort content, and avoid being one of these bums yourself.
Please note that my second example includes some retro pinup pictures. Someone out there will inevitably get their knickers in a twist if I don't offer some warning. Mildly NSFW (Not Safe For Work)? We have more scandalous book covers at the library though.
Blatant Plagiarism
"The trip to Italy was SO FANTASTIC! Got a great landscape shot, and a tour of the Pantheon, too!"
Except, no. The images above are from here and here. These at least are freely usable under the Pixabay license. I have seen some people just repost pictures from someone else's commercial photography website and claim they were their own work, though.
I'm not a fan of IP laws, but I am a fan of honesty. If it isn't your content, decency demands you give credit where credit is due. Besides, reverse image search is a thing, and you will be discovered as a plagiarist eventually. Just don't.
Copy/Paste Moneygrubbing
"Check out these hot pics I found online! I'm totally allowed to share them! Those hyperlinks credit the source!"
Only slightly less dishonest is the "I'm trying to monetize a basic ctrl-c/ctrl-v post" demonstrated above. I linked to the image source page where the creator is credited and license information is listed, but really, a quick image search alone is not exactly a creative endeavor on my part or yours.
There's a lot of this hidden in the NSFW posts behind the opt-in-to-view toggle button. "But I'm a licensed affiliate marketer," they say, as they copy/paste their way to double-dip crypto rewards and porn referral kickbacks. If you're doing this, stop. If you're using the proper tags and giving credit, decline payout if it isn't your content. Don't try to monetize it.
Pointless Posts
This is less about avoiding downvotes and more about earning upvotes. Quality content tends to attract an audience, so while I cannot guarantee success, here is one tip I can offer. Don't do this:
"An evening photo of storm clouds."
That actually is a photo I snapped with my phone. It is grainy, the street light glare at the bottom is, well, a glaring problem. The brief description says nothing about why I took the photo or why you should care. Remember, you are creating content to entertain and inform other people, so put some effort into it.
Don't get me wrong here, I'm not condemning people who have potato-level tech like my phone or are learning the skills as they go. Just remember to add value if you want people to find value. For example, that photo is from Monday evening as a storm front blew in. We had high winds, power outages across the region, and a sudden drop in temperatures. The following Tuesday had graupel as our season continues the shift from autumn to winter. A proper post on the subject might include more pictures and information about that.
Posting Too Often
Most successful bloggers post at least 2 or 3 times per week, and many post almost daily. If you belong to several communities with daily challenges, you might even post 2-3 times per day, but very few find real success with that kind of output. The worst spammers are usually the copy/paste crowd because so little effort is required.
How often should you post? I don't know. Find a pace that works for you, but focusing on quality necessarily takes some time, and thus naturally slows your rate of content creation. You'll find your best stride that way.
Abuse
This should be simple. Behave yourself. Be civil. Don't make threats, don't resort to personal attacks, and so on. Name-calling generally makes you look juvenile at best. We all occasionally resort to intemperate language and snap judgements, but work toward becoming a better person anyway.
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So I am still relatively new here on hive as I haven't even reached the 3 week mark yet, but had an encounter with an individual with a lot of weight here on hive. Since then he has been harassing my posts for me simply stating his abuse towards me and shining a light that individuals like this shouldn't be able to get away with such things...
What are your thoughts on this subject matter @jacobtothe @meesterboom since you guys seem to have a decent rep and some experience in this space. Jarvie at PeakD even stepped in just out of curiousity and even then his votes and others were neutralized in such a simple fashion...
My realization from this was that what took me relentless efforts and 2 weeks+ of content could be neutralized in a single moment by 1 individual. My rep went from 50+ to 0 to 33+(cause jarvie) then back to 0. So when does this categorize itself as cyber bullying and an abuse of power?
Sorry if you wish for me to delete this post here because I get it is meant to try to draw new people into the platform and inform them the quality post they should be making I can but was trying to seek some guidance. My only way thinking to move forward is just be relentless in providing information/content/value in my comments/outreach.
!PIZZA
Whale downvote abuse is a problem. I haven't had opportunity to look into your specific case. Maybe you earned it. Maybe not. There are efforts to build a counterbalance, but nothing is complete yet.
Well no need to lol I can handle my own problems and create my own realities, but just curious on thoughts and projects that have been initiated into this type of decisions. For me I took a day back to realize that I won't be stooping to this individuals level, but at the same time that doesn't mean I am backing down as I will choose to fight it in far more productive ways as I'm about standing up for my principles and what I believe in (although not quite firm at this moment, but I do know what I don't believe in and sometimes that is enough to stand up for)
@meesterboom oh it wasn't about my particular scenario just wondering your thoughts from a generic standpoint. Yeah the incident happened on a side app of his I believe called element.io but yeah as I said it isn't about me personally. Time will make apparent my goals and who I am, but just talking about things in terms of theory. Or were certain people in other communities not aware of this type of scenarios.
@eythorphoto sorry that it was horrible to read for you it wasn't meant to in that context, but to serve as an intellectual conversation and just expanding my mind/ideals a bit more/challenging them at the same time. Although I admire your enthusiasm it feels almost as if you are trolling/joking not really sure lol but I really don't believe 2 wrongs make a right although it is also something I am struggling with irl as there are personal scores I plan on settling, but have evolved in my ideals and principles in how I react or treat certain individuals. Like some people it is best to kill with kindness and let them realize the individual they lost out on in the process.
This is horrible to read, i bully bullys in real life, i guess i could try and cyberbully a cyberbully, where that prick at?
WELCOME to Hive !
!LUV
!PGM
Eythorphoto!
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Discord
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Thanks for the warm welcomes but not needed, but here have some !PIZZA as oddly your post provided me a bit of satire and comedic relief
I cant really comment as I dont know the full context. I had a look at your account and you reference some kind of falling out on Discord. So not sure.
It's all about honesty in the end. So many of the ones who get downvoted are absolutely at it.
And then the pr0n filth such as you have posted here. Outrageous, I hovered over that dv button for a moment I was so disgusted :0D
I apologize for any discomfort those salacious images may have inflicted upon your sensitive psyche.
They have inflamed it and I now feel my soul is in grievous peril.
I must away to clean the streets
Don't forget to confess to your priest today.
Already done, amazing how light the soul can feel after a good absolving!
good points. One more thing and I am guilty of it, I forgot again today, state if the photos are yours. For a long time, I did not know to state the source when copying a photo and I keep forgetting to say if they are my own photos.
I sometimes forget to add that bit of information, too. I've been known to go back and edit the post to add it the next day.
I guess I should do that, too. I have been just letting it be.
Well, you're pretty good at adding that, and your content is sufficiently personal and relevant to your life I doubt anyone would accuse you of stealing pics.
I sometimes wonder if the fact that Hive is often advertised as being like Facebook doesn't help newcomers. They then share stuff like they do on Facebook and wonder why it's not seen as acceptable. After all, the average Facebook user doesn't exactly blog, but shares stuff instead.
We also have Twitter-like users who just want to post occasional comments.
For people who want a more Facebook-ish experience, Diaspora may be the better option.
I seem to recall that in the prehistoric days of Hive (er..Steem), there was at one time a four post a day limit of some sort. I tend to post anywhere from 1 to 3 times in a day, 4 or 5 days a week. Sometimes less, rarely more.
Yeah, there used to be significant reward penalties for frequent posting built into the code IIRC.