I don't like Spam!
Almost 1 week into my role as referee and I've already exposed some of the more obvious and heinous examples of abuse on the platform. Plagiarism is fairly easy to spot and I don't think anyone of sound mind would argue that copying other people's work is wrong and a blight on the reward pool. Given the lengths that some users go to to try and cover the fact that they are doing this, I can only assume that they too agree this isn't what the platform was made for.
While most of the time plagiarism is a fairly black and white assessment, there are plenty of examples of abuse that probably need further definition and community concensus before overt action including flagging begins.
Take spam for instance. How do you define it?
That's a genuine question so please help me to answer it.
I'll give you some examples that I have seen of late and perhaps you tell me what you think.
- Accounts who only use Dlike & Steemhunt posts to earn on Sportstalk
- Accounts using only the above and making no other interaction on the platform
Are these kind of users spam accounts?
Having been active on platforms like Reddit since before Steem ever existed, I can tell you that sites like that have rules around how much shared content an account can post as a % of it's total contribution to that specific community. In other words if I went on the r/cricket page of Reddit and just started sharing my own and other sportstalk blogs without commenting or posting from elsewhere then I'd be branded a spammer and ultimately blocked from using those pages.
I think that things like Dlike and Steemhunt can form part of a user's interaction on this platform - sharing a great article you've read or a sports related app you've found can create discussion between you and your genuine followers - but should it be the sole means of you interacting and earning? Do we need to set a rule of thumb that says only a certain % of a users actions on Sportstalk should come from shared content like Dlike and Steemhunt? If we did, what would that % be? 10%? 20%? 50%?
I know that some users will be thinking to themselves well what about actift posts? I have my own reservations about the number and quality of actifit posts and I recently did some research into accounts using that tag that suggests you could define them along the same lines as I've described above. The problem I see with actfit is that Sportstalk is auto tagged onto those posts i.e. users aren't taking an active decision to "spam" the platform and therefore taking action against them seems somewhat unfair. The solution to that problem would be to stop the auto tagging of the posts...
enjoy this classic Monty Python scene that could easily describe a large amount of the content on sportstalk
At present there is no real mention of spam within the community guidelines
https://www.sportstalksocial.com/community/@sportstalksocial/community-guidelines
I don't know if it's possible, but could perhaps muting rewards on dlike, Steemhunt etc that add little value to the tribe? Users can still use them, still get Steem or other rewards where applicable, but if you want to share a website or product and earn SPORTS for it, then you need to put the effort in to create a separate post.
Posted using Partiko Android
As far as I’m aware it’s only possible to mute the account entirely rather than selectively muting tags. Muting or benching of accounts has already happened where users have persistently violated guidelines but with no definition of what constitutes spam that’d probably be an extreme measure to take at this stage
Another issue with Actifit is the argument that the proof of activity is the content. I am still not sure how I feel about that one way or the other. I can see the point on both sides. Especially now that I have a fitness tracker and I am posting more on Actifit myself. Some days are just boring, but I got a crap ton of steps. I could make up a story so that the post has more substance, but that would be a lie. Which is better? The recent user that was called out for having 40+ tags on their posts strikes me as spam.
The difference between yourself and most Actifit users is that you are aware that you are posting on sportstalk! I genuinely believe most Actifit users don’t know their post ends up here! To me that seems counterintuitive towards the whole point of having tribes in the first place
If you’re setting yourself a goal in regards steps then by all means post everyday, update your followers and draw inspiration from other users to keep yourself motivated
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Some interesting points. I don't often go to the #sportstalk tag when looking for things to curate for @curangel...Too much actifit etc. although to be fair I have to peruse hundreds of posts to find 7-9 each day that I can promote for a vote...Like this one.
I'm not against Actifit though, well, mostly I ignore them, although whilst scrolling through to curate I find some good ones, some where a little effort is made.
I know it's an extra step @galenkp but I would consider using SportsTalkSocial.com if seeking to curate for @curangel. You can filter out the majority of Actifit posts by using the tag system on the left hand side to only see #SportsTalk posts about individual sports or leagues. This reduces having to see Actifit posts the majority of the time. If you'd prefer to not sign from our site you can just change Sportstalksocial.com/sportstalk/@user/post-url to Steemit.com/sportstalk/@user/post-url and sign from traditional steem interface if that's preferred too.
I'll take a look...Whilst Actifit has a purpose here rarely do I find one that I'd curate for curangel so it would be good to filter them out and reward some #sportstalk content producers.
Thank you.
I completely understand. If you find any sports or sporting leagues/teams we don't support on our sidebar then let me know and I'll make sure they are added.
@ref11 This ratared is multiple account spammer please take serious action against him https://www.sportstalksocial.com/@shahzad01 you can check his accounts using steemd.com/@shahzad01