I just had a Berliner bun as a snack (super healthy) and on top were these little colored sprinkles, because there wasn't enough sugar in the bun, jam and icing.
Every time I see them it reminds me of mice.
When I was a kid we lived in a large and old farmhouse and my dad had converted one of the little buildings that was probably 4 square meters and an old tool shed, into a studio where he could paint. The building was falling apart and it was time to clean it up. Once we started to clean it up we noticed these tiny and brightly colored something all over the place and then realized what it was, mouse crap.
They had been feasting on my dad's acrylic paints for years.
Everything leaves a trail.
I was thinking about this a little the other day and wondering about all of the various interactions and transactions that the blockchain records and while it doesn't record everything, there are a lot of trails. When there are better tools and more experienced investigators, it is going to be amusing to see what kinds of connections will be made and while some are obvious, I think others might be surprises.
For example, considering I am relatively well-known around Steem, what would you think of me if you found out I had created a ring of alts that were upvoting each other to maximize rewards for Steem or the Tribe tokens? What if you discovered I was spinning articles and rehashing from other sources or using an automated article spinner? What if I was (mouse) shitposting on sockpuppets for reward? Would your impression of me change?
We have of course seen this behavior commonly on many accounts and it happens at the highest and lowest levels. The fact of humanity is that when there is value available, people treat it like an all-you-can-eat buffet and fill their plates. The difference is that the stomach can only hold so much food, greed knows no bounds.
Reputation is an interesting thing and while the technical mechanism is broken on Steem, reputation still matters when it comes to individual relationships and public perception.There are very few people I know on Steem who have consistently maintained their position and kept a good reputation intact. Very, very few.
It seems that the "pressure" of Steem or the "potential" of Steem tends to drive people to change their behavior and often it is a degradation from where they once were. Sometimes it is an improvement. Over the years I have seen many people breakdown, spit the dummy and through entitlement tantrums about the lack of reward or the downvotes that finally found them. It is a slippery slope and the more often one breaks, the more often one is likely to break in the future, especially if the first one or two gathered some attention and support. Attention seeking behavior doesn't care for positive or negative.
For some they take a "if you can't beat them, join them" approach and start to stray from their values as they feel they are falling behind others, or not maximizing themselves enough. The influence of competition and comparison makes people feel inadequate and the chance of overcompensation increases. Part of the justification might be, "well everyone is doing it" without recognizing that no, not everyone is.
Seek and you shall find.
Maybe it is much like the mouse crap in my dad's art room, you are what you eat where the color of the shit corresponds to the color of the paint eaten. Spend your time with scammers, perhaps you are more readily going to scam without feeling guilt or shame. What color paint have you eaten?
For me, I started off on Steem with no group, no friends, no background - just me and my content. Once I began learning and interacting, I ended up spending my time with curators and content creators, people who had large stake, people with small looking to grow, investors and developers. I was perhaps lucky in where I fed.
I am always disappointed when I discover scammy behavior from people who I think should know better. But, the blockchain remembers and one day all of these interactions could rise to the surface for all to see. Just think that if this place does become as successful and valuable as it could, how many people will be interested to dig around in the past to see what they can find.
The good, the bad and the ugly.
All available in immutable history.
Taraz
[ a Steem original ]
That's why I use my own name. Those tools are coming. I'd rather doxx myself in advance, keeps me honest.
Hundreds and thousands are actually smartie poo.
Smartie poo. Just remember what tic tacs are.
I think the lack of anonymity does help keep people honest. It will be interesting later if some people have built a reputation value and it comes undone because of what they tried to hide.
Wonderful and eloquent diatribe Taraz!
Just in time for me personally...
I'm just a Steemian Rewards Burner these days.
Not willing to make any USD investment at this time for STEEM POWER ~ Maybe later.
HardFork did nothing to make things better for me personally, so I JUST BURN ALL THE STEEM REWARDS.
I just use this fantastic blog platform for e-book writing ~ I'm addicted to STEEMPEAK... It's amazing and become more awesome with each new innovation.
I recently set up a templet for a new signature series ~ Transformative Spiritual Faith ~ which puts me in the midst of a more positive spiritual mindset so I can do my best work, and JUST BURN THE STEEM REWARDS!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts so masterfully my friend ~ always appreciated!
Have fun burning those rewards. Every Steem burned makes all the rest a little more valuable ;D
Most people I hang out with here are normal people. At least in my eyes, their reputations are good. They are not abusers, scammers or spammers or anything bad by any stretch of the imagination.
Because you like me hang out with people who are people. "Knowing" and spending time with are different things :)
I have a hard time believing those Steemians I have met or regularly interact with on chain are some kind of crooks because most people in the wider world aren't. At the very least, as reputation is a public matter, we can discuss whether or not "very, very few" Steemians have their reputations intact.
I think it's a hyperbolic statement. I have never even come across an accusation against the majority of Steemians. Accusations are always leveled against a minority, and nearly always those with a lot of stake. It seems to me that, at worst, you could say that in the eye of the public, "the rich" are the crooked ones here.
I didn't say very few Steemians, I said very few I have known. It is a smaller group and I spend some of my on chain time in places you likely don't. It is levelled against the large stake because that is the most obvious and attracts the most attention. The rich are always the crooked ones in the eye of the public.
So, from time to time you don your hazmat suit and head for the vermin-infested sewers of Steem? What do you see there?
I bump into him often :)
Hah!
Yeah, it is part of the game of Steems I like. =D
Edit: There are all kinds of things to find, lots of paper trails to follow.
You shitting me about colored crap, hah hah, i need to try this lol
Regarding opinnion. Mine would not change until it has personal negative impact on me personally, it is your stake and you are free to do with it whatever system allows, downvote my posts of you do not like them for example. (Well then my opinnion might shift though lol I'm just a programmed biorobot after all)
This might come from my libertarian beliefs but all this wraps around the concept of decentralisation. You are free to to whatever you see fit. Is not this the reason why we are all spending time and trying to work on a solution, where each actor is behaving according to the system of pre programmed rules? Acting as he sees it fit? And it is funny to me when other members start moralising and introducing moral and ethical rules on how one is supposed to behave. Cmon, stop it or develop a system that incentivises desired behavior.
On the other hand there are many actors, and if you start downvoting my posts i might go on a revenge trail, sell my car, buy a big stake and start downvoting all of your posts too. While this being irrational it is still an option, and it all settles in some form of equilibrium.
But if/when the system fails to reach equilibrium and dies of, it means it was designed poorly and all actors suffer as a consequence (but too few people look that far and are victims of public ignorance: "let the others do the right thing).
In that case system cease to exist or is redesigned to better fit the concept of equilibrium, which basically is the ultimate goal for any sustainable environment.
And oh well, since i am also quite a nihilist, even systems in equilibrium cease to exist because universe is expanding lol
It looked like that fennel candy in Indian restaurants :)
I think that if you had some opinion (especially a good one) of someone it would change how you see them. If it is a bad opinion already, it will fit with expectations.
That is what is slowly happening. What those desired behaviors are though is difficult in a decentralized environment, so it will only ever be a line of best fit.
And it isn't only on Steem. There are reasons that the world of humans is the way it is. Us.
Fuck! Now I want a berliner. My diabetes hates you. 😂
Posted using Partiko iOS
I'm sorry about your sock puppet. Tell me more.
Hahaha. Poor sockpuppets...