Maybe a random "timer" (e.g from 0 to 8 hours) for every new thread/topic that is created?
If for example the random "timer" for your OP was at 3 hours and 21 minutes, insta upvoting from bots becomes useless. The lucky upvoters that upvoted closest to 3h21m would earn the most in this case and not the bots. Bots would loose their speed advandage and now we know that we have plenty of time to read and evaluate the content. Long term we earn the average and there is no time pressure.
I think the developers should consider this idea very seriously! I think it is brilliant idea!
Clever bots will know when the timer starts, then vote afterwards. Unless .. calculation of rewards happens at an even later time point and it decides which votes are qualified for rewarding. But uncertainty will probably harm adoption.
Maybe first round calculations can be done at the end of the 8 hours timeline, also if the "random timer" can't be kept secret until then, it could be created at that time too. It adds some randomnes but I think that rewards can continue normally to be paid and bots become completly(?) useless.
Also, voting one hour earlier or one hour later from the "random timer" should have the same "value weight"/reward
How will they know? The timer is "random"!
Why uncertainty?
!!!!!!! IDEA !!!!!!!
Let the votes before the random time elapse.... COUNT!.... BUT ONLY 10% of their original VOTING POWER! (could be any % the community decides)
On a blockchain, even a random value should meet consensus, which means every node (witness or miner) would know the exact (SAME) time, of course the bots would know it as well, and take advantages.
Read @abit's reply and then basically remove the word random from your thought process when considering blockchain systems. That's isn't 100% accurate but it is close enough to stop making major errors in reasoning about how they work.
but can the bots not take back their votes and vote again until "they know" they voted after the random time elapsed? I guess the random time must be revealed only after payment...