Without accountability and clear parameters, quality content will be flagged and censored
As millions of users come to Steemit from other platforms, the flagging system will become a problem and users will down-vote disagreeable posts in mass. It may not be a huge problem now because most early-adopters are relatively knowledgeable about the platform and tend to see the potential and vision of Steemit. It's what attracted them to here in the first place.
In this post, I'm going to give you my views on:
- Why censorship-free content is important, especially if it's an unpopular opinion
- The flaws in the current flagging system and how it will lead to censorship of minority views
- What the flagging system needs
- My suggestions to revamp it
Why you should want freedom of expression
Freedom of speech is important, even if some speech is unpopular, hateful, or offensive. If you already understand these principles, feel free to skip this section. It's doubtful I could express my views as eloquently and succinctly as they do in this 2-3 minute video, so I encourage you to watch it:
Flaws in Steemit's flagging system: How it will lead to unwanted censorship and abuse
There are currently no automatic penalties for falsely-flagging posts. Millions of Redditors use the down-vote button for posts they disagree with or otherwise don't like. As they migrate over here, if things don't change, it's probable they will use flagging like a down-vote button.
Currently, the only penalty for unwarranted flagging is fear of retaliation. If a user falsely-flags your post, the only recourse you have is to flag them back in retaliation and/or recruit whales to do it for you, if you happen to have those connections. This "penalty" is entirely insufficient.
I should also mention there are other minor penalties for flagging (regardless of if it's warranted or not): It uses up voting power and you won't get curation awards for that post.
If people are using flagging like they use a down-vote button, minority opinions will likely get down-voted, even if it's quality content. Think of it like this: Suppose 95% of users passionately think one thing is right and only 5% of users think another thing is right. Someone with the 5% minority view is going to get down-voted into oblivion, even if they have an excellent argument and well-presented content. Without restrictions, people will flag it because they disagreed with the post. We can prevent this!
What the flagging system needs
- Clear Parameters
- Full Transparency
- Accountability
My suggestions to fix it
When a user clicks the flag button, have a box pop up saying something to the extent of Flagging a post is only for instances of (insert rules here). Unwarranted flagging can result in (insert penalties here). Enter reason for flagging in the box below.
Select trusted users would then be allowed to see who flagged the post, why they flagged the post, and click whether the flag was warranted or not.
- If only a low percentage of your flags are marked as "unwarranted", then no harm, no foul.
- If a higher percentage of your flags are "unwarranted" then your flagging privileges get suspended.
- If you have a highly-accurate flagging history, then you are granted the privileges to review other peoples' flags.
I would love to hear your thoughts! Please discuss other ideas/improvements you may have in the comments. Thanks for reading!
Jordan
edit: Suggested clarification by @neoxian. Thanks!
Flagging does have some other penalties you didn't mention:
Thanks for letting me know. In the post I was talking about unwarranted flagging, not flagging in general. I'll edit the post to make it clearer because I hate to spread misinformation. Those penalties also seem insignificant to me. Do you disagree?
The penalty for one flag isn't huge, but it can add up. I guess I felt this more because I used to do a lot of flagging.
That would make it a form of theft then?
I agree that something needs to be changed. I'm also sure Dan & Ned are aware of the current systems flaws but likely have not had time to address it. Steem's progress was likely set back by months due to the hack and the Dev team having to deal with that and be even more careful about the new solutions they introduced.
You may or may not be aware of my own struggle with certain flagging abusers, but I appreciate you bringing this up and offering a solution. Really good article!
Thanks for taking the time to read it; I'm glad you found value in it! My hope is the right people on the dev team will see this when they get around to fixing the flaws.
Your suggestions essentially allows trusted users to be moderators, and I think some form of moderator would be a good Idea. I further like your idea because it allows for some sort of decentralized choice mechanism for making someone, and allowing someone to stay a moderator. Do a shitty job, lose your flagging privileges.
Thanks. I think it would be a popular idea if the right people saw it. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like it will gain the traction necessary to reach the "trending" page.
You just summarized his very good idea
Yes, I was expressing my agreement with his ideas.
Great post, there definitely needs to be some checks and balances in place. Even the unpopular opinions deserve to be heard!
What about plagiarism and spamming?
I'm assuming you're not talking about informative posts on the topics of plagiarism and spamming? Otherwise, actually stealing digital property or legitimate spamming are different beasts than "unpopular opinions."
I brought this up weeks ago. A reason for flagging needs to be mandatory and there need to be a way for others to override the flag. If the flag is overridden then a penalty needs to be issued on the one that false flagged either in lowering reputation. transfering a SP penalty to the author that was flagged, or both.
I'm don't care for the flagging part at all.
If someone doesn't like your story they should just go on by to something they do like.
You shouldnt be able to cause people problems just because you dont like their post or comment, or disagree with it.
That's part of the point I was trying to make. Jealousy, disagreement and dislike are not reasons to flag. It's supposed to be used solely for spam, plagiarism, deceptive tagging, verbal abuse, etc.
And yet, given the power... you create the monster. The First Amendment doesn't read "shall make no law (...) abridging the freedom of speech... except for XYZ." If you do, you end up with a democracy... two wolves and a sheep deciding what to have for dinner. Mob rule. The majority can overthrow the rights of the minority.
You can't cause someone problems by flagging, unless enough highly steem powered people agree with you.
@tie-warutho Is there a reason you flagged this post?
To show I think downvoting is an important part of steemit and to protest recent changes like making downvoting flagging.
Kinda proves our point
Or if you as an author don't have enough followers to upvote away from the downvotes. The whales survive and crush the minnows. Two wolves and a sheep deciding what to eat for dinner. AKA democracy.
I totally agree with you.
I just got flagged this morning for the first time and I have no idea why. It wasn't even a controversial post. It was a short scifi flash fiction with speculative technology that I explained.
I back tracked the flagger and it appears that ALL of his posts are flagged. Apparently he's a malcious flagger. He has thousands of dollars of steem and a higher reputation that I do so I see no recourse.
Odd thing. I wrote another post shortly after it happened and I'd swear it was edited, and not by me.. I didn't think that was possible.
Jordan. How about doxing?
Just came across this post with logons! :(
Could that be an example when a flag just wouldn't do?