This post, combined with the crap responses to the questions asked of steemit inc at steemfest, are a little worrying to say the least. It is not inspiring much confidence in the platform at the moment. It's no wonder the trend in the steem price is down with no signs of a turn around at this point.
I agree, people shouldn't be shamed into upvoting their own posts. It's your vote, it's your money, and you should be free to do with it what you please.
The bots are also helpful, especially if you put a lot of work in and there's an economic incentive to use them. Why wouldn't you use them? (You are killing it with the bots, by the way.)
Also, how the fuck did Laura Banfield go down to 4 on her intro post? There's some unjustified hate/jealousy right there. Jesus. No wonder she hasn't been back! Adding to this, I'd really like to see some stats on user retention and engagement given the type of shit that is going on at the moment.
Excellent but somewhat depressing post @lexiconical.
"Why wouldn't you use them?"
It's also worth noting that a lack of competition for the bots renders them increasingly "profitable", and therefore open to abuse. More bidders lead to the bots being used for promotion, instead of profit. I've lost 25%+ on several bids, but my curators get a big boost.
"(You are killing it with the bots, by the way.)"
A result of being asked to give them a try by a friend, and a refusal to go to bed or stop writing.
I really hope my followers will starting seeing the benefits after curation payout.
"Also, how the fuck did Laura Banfield go down to 4 on her intro post? "
Being a Banfield was apparently enough, despite her seeming quite nice and eloquent enough.
"stats on user retention and engagement"
They aren't good. Try @paulag 's blog, maybe? Or @me-tarzan .
"Excellent but somewhat depressing post"
Hah, sorry to be a bummer. I'm pleased we have gone unflagged so far.
Hi @choogirl, this is a question I actually know the answer to! Haha. @laurabanfield had the misfortune of joining a few days after her husband, @jerrybanfield, pissed off select members of the community for creating a steemit registration service that cost more money than someone else's steemit registration service, and apparently @laurabanfield was immediately deemed guilty by association. This all went down a day or two after I joined, and was essentially my introduction to the steemit community. Needless to say, I almost bailed right away.
For the record, I'm making no comment or representation of opinion here on @jerrybanfield, @laurabanifield, or the community. (lest I be downvoted into oblivion)
Thanks @doctor-onion. That makes sense. What a shame for Laura. This is not the type of behaviour that encourages new members and growth in the platform. Working your way around Steemit is hard enough as a newbie, never mind dealing with a sea of downvotes that destroy your reputation on your first post. That would be quiet soul destroying. I hope she comes back in time.
" select members of the community " ... bashed my rep during the first few weeks when the platform launched . I was stunned regarding the dedicate whale nickle and dime button clicking. That experience gave Steemit a Vap fail vibe feel to me. I only started reposting a year later. I have a build it and they will come mentality. Good content providers will hopefully dominate user feeds one day. I really do enjoy creating the content I post on Steemit. I just try now to block out all the poo poo fluff hoping this "gaming" eventually works itself out.... I'm not gonna let my negative experience at the start effect how I share on Steemit..... If new users keep having the initial same negative whale experience that most steemians eventually experience , Im sure a competing platform will surly take the lead in emerging new space. I like Steemit . I really hope all this all works it way out... honest open dialogue will help keep self perfecting the platform
Wow, that's a shit story as well. Thanks for sharing. I will check out your profile.
The revenge flagging is a seriously worrying issue for me on Steemit. It's pretty messed up that one person can flag your account into oblivion basically forever just because you said something they didn't like. :-/
Good job! Thanks to @lexiconical you have planted 0.13 tree to save Abongphen Highland Forest in Cameroon. Help me to plant 1,000,000 trees and share my Steem Power to the others. Selfvoting is prohibited, but that should be the reason to spread the world to protect our precious environment. Check out profile of our conservation association @kedjom-keku and the founder/coordinator @martin.mikes to get more information about our conservation program. My current SP is 14273.95. Help me to plant more trees with your delegated SP.
Thanks a lot,
your @treeplanter
www.kedjom-keku.com
Good job! Thanks to @lexiconical you have planted 0.13 tree to save Abongphen Highland Forest in Cameroon. Help me to plant 1,000,000 trees and share my Steem Power to the others. Selfvoting is prohibited, but that should be the reason to spread the world to protect our precious environment. Check out profile of our conservation association @kedjom-keku and the founder/coordinator @martin.mikes to get more information about our conservation program. My current SP is 14273.93. Help me to plant more trees with your delegated SP.
Thanks a lot,
your @treeplanter
www.kedjom-keku.com