We all need to sit down and have a rational discussion over referral links.
Lately numerous posts have been reported as spam to the various abuse-related channels and mechanisms Steemit community members created for the benefit of the platform.
Many of these referral links are found in posts by newer users or otherwise Minnows and, partially due to the confusion around whether referral links are "allowed" or "not allowed" in accordance to overarching platform etiquette, have resulting in otherwise-"quality" posts getting flagged.
To make sure we're all on the same page, let's define what a referral link is first.
Definitions
Referral Link
Referral links are designed to introduce a service or product to another person where either executing an action (subscribing, purchasing, etc) or simply viewing it will result in a monetary benefit to the referring person.
They typically look like this, although types and presentations vary:
http://www.urlofsomethinggeneral.com/r?=2345235
http://www.urlofsomethinggeneral.com/referral/2352353
Some referrals are for products, such as physical items recommended for purchase at a store. Some are for services. Some are crypto-related.
Differences Between Referral Links
There are two general categories of referral links on Steemit and anywhere else for that matter.
One is harmless links merely designed to introduce a legitimate product or service while ensuring that the referring person gets some minor monetary benefit for the introduction. These can include referrals to crypto services, Amazon or t-shirt stores that sell products, gaming links, etc. The majority of referrals found on Steemit fall into this category.
The other is a malicious attempt to refer a person into a scam. These are typically for "get rich quick" schemes that don't work, are not intended to work, and are designed to trick a user. Other examples of malicious referrals are illegal content, malware-introducing links, click-bait, and referrals designed to benefit a malicious third party such as a criminal group. Malicious links are self-evident and very rare.
So in summary, we'll refer to referrals as either "harmless" or "malicious".
It is important to note that spamming a "harmless" referral link in comments, through clickbait or in chats can turn that "harmless" link into a "malicious" one.
Discussion
Whereas the Steemit platform is designed in such a way as to allow each individual the opportunity to voice their displeasure with a user or their post/comment by flagging, a uniform approach is needed to be adapted by anti-abuse services. As a group we must either flag all "harmless" referral links or none. Of course, we should flag all "malicious" referral links.
Currently, the presence of referral links is causing a great deal of confusion and unnecessary stress for everyone involved. On one hand, original content creators who are Minnows see referral links used in posts by Whales and other prominent community members. When they see a trending post offer the link, they assume it is acceptable to do the same. They write excellent posts about a service and share their referral link, only to have the post hidden through flags for a crime they didn't know they committed.
Meanwhile, readers are perpetually confused over whether referral links are permitted and are reporting these Minnow posts to the cleaning mechanisms. This needlessly wastes the time of cleaners, particularly as afterwards the appeal process initiated by the affected Minnow requires manual resolution. This is a colossal investment in time that could be better-spent, particularly as the numbers of individuals engaged in keeping Steemit "clean" is small and overworked.
And obviously, the affected Minnow who thought that they were creating valuable original content is confused, pissed off, and disillusioned with Steemit, which goes against the general goal of Steemit to grow and produce that same original content.
^ Some article about proposing
Proposal
We propose that all "harmless" referral links, irrespective of whom they're shared by, are permitted.
We also propose that all "malicious" referral links, irrespective of whom they're shared by, are immediately "cleaned" to mitigate their harmful proliferation.
Conclusion
We must agree on a uniform approach and adapt it across the board. When we allow only certain wealthy/influential users to benefit through sharing their referral links but bar all others, everyone loses.
What are your thoughts?
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I hate referral links. mainly because some can be malicious.
BUT, having said that, I believe Steemit should remain UN-censored. I believe in No censorship and decentralization .
We have the option of policing ourselves with down votes. If you don't agree with a post,then you have the option to comment and downvote it.
It's a fine line, and I think we need to be careful not to start censoring
It's not possible to sensor anything on the Steem blockchain -- the transaction is there no matter what it contains -- but it is definitely possible to control Steemit the frontend. We do need to be careful to treat Steemit the way it was meant to be treated, which is as you said, without undue censorship.
Removal of malicious referrals/URLs is not censoring IMHO. Those shall be taken down/deleted, preferably from the blockchain to prevent harm to anybody. The blockchain is the central place of storage, and has many interfaces today and will get more in the future. When fighting the harm in the user interface, this will not cause potential harm through user interfaces that are not that quick to adapt itself, or may never embed features to warn the user for URLs that are malicious.
Bitconnect. Enough with the bitconnect. People, I know you're convinced it's not a scam. But seriously. Enough with the bitconnect. @ironshield
Bitconnect is indeed a popular one.
Great post.
I think that harmless should be permitted and malicious banned.
We're in agreement. Was hoping more individuals would join the discussion as well.
anyone who does affiliate marketing is, or should be, aware that disclosure that a link is a referral link is legally required... either directly on the link or as a notice that some of the links on the page may be affiliate links. That is what should be enforced.
I was not aware of that. Perhaps that's what we need to implement here, a mandatory disclosure.
it would make sense to go that route. That way, people have the freedom to use them on their blog but only when done responsibly
Referal links are - in principle - not issues at all, when they are good ones. The malicious ones, they need to be removed from the platform. I agree with your proposal. Currently, Steemit does not have a real content cleaning system, other than for plagiarism. I think an automatic services, or services shall be created to take out malicious referrals, or even better, malicious URLs (referrals are nothing more than a URL and can be embedded behind words, images and other content.
If a blacklist of malicious sites can be created then posts that feature those can be automatically flagged. It's possible if a list is there.
some flagging accounts are available on Steemit; blacklist-a for instance. I suppose also others maybe available, but dont know them. Ok, I think I know who owns blacklista, I'll reach out to him.
posts / links with referral link only means that one person is getting better from it and that person is not the reader, therefore i will most likely see a post like that as SPAM. and i would probably mute / flag / report the person that post it .
Would that poster being a prominent member of Steemit change your reaction?
not really , i don't care if a person has one dollar or a million dollar they will still be buried in the same earth when they are dead.
I think referral links to legitimate sites are ok. There is a difference between writing out a well thought out article and educating the community on the benefits of a certain product, site, etc. When you start spamming links and not creating valuable content, then that crosses the line.
great discussion to bring out and there should be a line drawn so people know where they stand. I personally don't like referral links, there is enough of them floating about the web, it would be nice to keep them off steemit