Introduction:
What is a voting ring: In this context, the algorithm works by finding the ratio of common votes (among a group of users) over the sum of uncommon votes and total votes. High ratios are potential rings. (This is an early stage algorithm, please do not be concerned or offended if your name is included in a potential ring. Nobody is accusing you of anything.)
The Vote Ring Detection Algorithm is commonly used on social media platforms which involve systems of upvoting (Eg. points on Reddit) and with the stakes even more valuable when real money is involved, this seems like a natural application of the algorithm to determine if we can crack down on voting rings on Steemit.
This is my first trial of such a hypothesis and the results of my experiment are below. Please note that I have queried the most recent 100 'active' posts on Steemit. A larger sample size would of course be more intuitive but the steem api did not seem to permit larger sizes. I am open to suggestions as to a better criteria to filter on. Most recent posts was not suited as there was often zero or very few upvotes on the posts by this stage. Furthermore, hot posts tend to dilute the voting rings which makes them less significant. So for now I have opted for the "active" criteria.
Overview of method:
- query steem api and get 100 hits.
- prepare these hits into a csv format with python script for the voting collusion algorithm to then process.
- receive algorithms output and prepare the data for this post!
The results:
Ring # 1 found: http://www.steemit.com/bitcoin/@craig-grant/ethereum-bitcoin-monero-dash-and-steem-with-morning-coffee
| Ring Size | Votes in Ring | Votes outside Ring | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| 134 | 134 | 0 | 1 |
User in this ring: @saryan, @partrician1, @thebookofuma, @vinayakn, @archerbest, @rhonob, @boren, @yoto, @steemitwahine, @bearone, @sambo-rambo, @glasnicce.shoots, @chitty, @gardenlady, @piedpiper, @dimimp, @beervangeer, @mammasitta, @mctiller, @michaellamden68, @britvr, @kakradetome, @riscadox, @jackkang, @furion, @nepalipahad, @exyle, @shredlord, @james212, @ajay555, @mondeja, @alsprinting, @krabgat, @npl77, @rznag, @youngkim, @ap2002, @elena000, @almerri, @awgbibb, @telos, @andrewawerdna, @nick1989, @daniel82, @trendwizard, @holoz0r, @noggfresh, @totosky, @lifebyadam, @heroic15397, @makis84, @insteadofmoney, @steemsports, @steemtv, @steemvoter, @muks, @carlosgarcia, @soundlegion, @sdwahine, @steeming4, @mornevd, @dragon40, @prezident0001, @roydowding, @sebastianjago, @mattandcristina, @ryanthegecko, @mytechcrunch, @corvuscoraxx, @dovetail, @ligrev, @marcelbraendle, @steemian69, @saikababii, @ceres, @hebrew, @anwarabdullah, @maryfavour, @ghostwriter82, @boxmining, @harleymechanix, @kyoubrian, @malonmar, @cryptokid003, @torem-di-torem, @andrianna, @blackamine, @albertoyago, @adamhole, @datkrazykid, @fatboyjames, @bloomberg215, @nschairer, @topsnav, @buster544, @bryguy, @sqamemal, @greencrypto, @gordonovich, @meme.for.steem, @sorinagt, @artemisia, @instantcoin, @popponayashelly, @doc-speakeasy, @abcdoctor, @raffael, @stefanarud, @reisolutions, @thomasaquinasftw, @rlh100, @skytrex, @cryptocat, @rizasukma, @ijoel, @futuristgear, @licklake, @newprepper, @haywiree, @alexanderglass, @roomservice, @cryptoactive, @lykencrypto, @boyetyamasaki, @cretin, @korinis, @almaamor, @sune-r-h-p, @tizswa, @buguela89, @jigarparmar519, @lupin, @arunava, @steve-speaks
Ring # 2 found: http://www.steemit.com/chainbb-general/@linuslee0216/let-s-celebrate-just-reach-100-followers-2017613t20455359z
| Ring Size | Votes in Ring | Votes outside Ring | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| 223 | 223 | 1 | 0.9911111111111112 |
User in this ring: @thomaskikansha, @chingyi, @brothermic, @crypt07, @chaudhry, @stay9n0, @aaronli, @danielle13, @dim1331, @berkah, @xeldal, @adol, @hr1, @xeroc, @steem-id, @lovejoy, @nenad-ristic, @hipster, @instructor2121, @pal, @lola-carola, @blakemiles84, @pangur-ban, @dana-varahi, @tee-em, @michaelx, @albertogm, @crok, @tyler-fletcher, @razvanelulmarin, @venuspcs, @sgtechservices, @good-karma, @roelandp, @nerdlab, @stranger27, @gatoso, @on0tole, @anasya, @vl248, @sveokla, @marinabogumil, @cloh76, @dwinblood, @condra, @raymondspeaks, @kell234, @hyiparena, @rouketas, @fiveboringgames, @konti, @fiona777, @phenom, @bitcoiner, @sharker, @zaebars, @mysteem, @winstonwolfe, @happyphoenix, @kooshikoo, @fatboy, @tygergamer, @bkkshadow, @smailer, @dmilash, @dirty.hera, @gomeravibz, @litrbooh, @always1success, @letc, @brendio, @mama-steem, @yoshiko, @stephen.king989, @uuuhha, @romancs, @ipumba, @krishtopa, @future24, @cmorton, @mythras, @vegascomic, @nano2nd, @dollarvigilante, @anotherjoe, @serejandmyself, @demo, @skylineking88, @ethansteem, @mrlogic, @barrycooper, @sethlinson, @shadowspub, @leno4ek, @nulliusinverba, @charlie777pt, @randomli, @nadin3, @xanoxt, @victoriart, @tatianka, @kralizec, @benjamin.still, @ebargains, @elena-singer, @dexter-k, @charlieshrem, @tracemayer, @feruz, @burnin, @anton333, @ekaterinka, @michelle.gent, @bestofreddit, @worldtraveler, @borishaifa, @okean123, @haphazard-hstead, @fortinbuff, @luzcypher, @grisha-danunaher, @rymlen, @killbis, @htyfn, @rusteemitblog, @ninkhisibir, @orenshani7, @therajmahal, @steemtrail, @marel, @luismy, @steemlift, @marialin, @steemvest17, @astral, @tdv.witness, @ebryans, @jessamynorchard, @max-max, @sstefan, @steemaccess, @garvofe, @innafanz, @hansikhouse, @maxse, @gardening-trail, @foraging-trail, @nikflossus, @baerdric, @alex1983ch, @technovedanta, @esteemapp, @yadamaniart, @ourlifestory, @irawandedy, @steemittalk, @beeskee, @v4vapid, @gildar, @saleg25, @soushi888, @meysam, @steemnews.online, @michaeladamparis, @lastminuteman, @things, @triddin, @cheah, @internutter, @marcosespes1, @fiction-trail, @kostaslou, @jasonrussell, @fbechstein, @poetry-trail, @killinhersoftly, @elgeko, @bounties, @steempoll, @cgame, @blockchained, @ogochukwu, @paolobeneforti, @maninayton, @cfreidsma, @torkot, @libertylol, @frocush, @vadbars, @carbunco10, @heikomahr, @mckenziegary, @crawfish37, @unmean-stweets, @steemfactory, @singa, @tipping, @thecrazygm, @sidwrites, @leanvix, @itchykitten, @tremendospercy, @reconnectnature, @lenadr, @readmore, @gohba.handcrafts, @tj4real, @vaibhavshah, @taica, @xenitron, @royalko, @jimsparkle, @nuagnorab, @victorier, @linuslee0216, @petkovski, @ercpok, @chl, @zenprogressive, @minnyfatty, @fzfred, @droucil, @shirish5
Ring # 3 found: http://www.steemit.com/steemit/@meesterboom/unstoppable-an-animation
| Ring Size | Votes in Ring | Votes outside Ring | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| 306 | 306 | 0 | 1 |
User in this ring: @fatkid, @shirrou, @amvanaken, @bewe, @adhoctoth, @jaymacvapes, @amristeem, @jerrev, @jaynectar, @anzhu, @bufferxtech, @avikal, @stervocka, @bitsbetrippin, @minhaj.zee, @finance2nomad, @jimybpt, @kenshiu, @slackerstacker, @hashbrown, @gasser484, @avercetti, @mrilevi, @ritualjunkie, @demco, @alejotorress, @shadowmonk, @djbk, @cbennett94, @oxicleanedjamal, @cryptovest, @karmamichele, @cryptogaming, @inalav, @sandy143007, @nhuanvolter, @princekhiwaliya, @bernardrussell, @umit, @jasnxxx, @shawnpady, @hussnainrazakhan, @sohaib1, @sneakydevill, @niallsemple, @unipaint, @humannature, @proctologic, @yefet, @makishart, @gregory-f, @nomoreheroes7, @cyan91, @gavvet, @richman, @avarice, @acidyo, @hossary, @steve-walschot, @klye, @oaldamster, @cryptofunk, @dragonslayer109, @thecryptodrive, @peter-parker, @infovore, @mark-waser, @norbu, @grey580, @juanmora, @matt-a, @yogi.artist, @cryptochannel, @slowwalker, @jacor, @steemit-life, @senseiteekay, @alone, @speda, @igster, @meesterboom, @juvyjabian, @gregm, @hastla, @kendewitt, @the-future, @mynameisbrian, @sgnsteems, @opheliafu, @jens84, @sauravrungta, @crazymumzysa, @ace108, @michaeldodridge, @sazbird, @bullionstackers, @walkerlv, @nekromarinist, @theprophet0, @merej99, @reneenouveau, @andrew0, @lenatramper, @joele, @denisoi, @theabsolute, @hanshotfirst, @lordvader, @bledarus, @wakeupjohnny, @wisbeech, @tolik8080, @creadordelfuturo, @levycore, @englishtchrivy, @jlufer, @uwelang, @davidjkelley, @digital-wisdom, @ethical-ai, @matthewtiii, @triplep, @jwaser, @mixacool, @damarth, @bwaser, @renzoarg, @cleateles, @bontonstory, @ellepdub, @pickoum, @herpetologyguy, @ocrdu, @s0u1, @lajulius, @morgan.waser, @bonvivan, @awesomenyl, @strong-ai, @projectnewbie, @ivand83, @tata.lucette, @bleujay, @lydon.sipe, @aldentan, @wakeupsheeps, @giantbear, @keuudeip, @mokluc, @joshuaatiemo, @eroche, @whatageek, @johnrenald, @crowdfundedwhale, @trans-juanmi, @collabornation, @technoprogressiv, @damiendecoster, @finder, @tradeqwik, @enju614, @dreemit, @juliosalas, @madlenfox, @colin-porter, @fibra59, @riostarr, @inber, @lazariko12, @sardrt, @automaton, @fisteganos, @da-dawn, @eem, @mariaalmeida, @tiowaldecir, @buzzbeergeek, @fleur, @decentralizd, @elementm, @lunatichai, @steemlifestyle, @eddiejmc51, @timvloggt, @muhammadrizal, @btu, @robert-call, @trevis, @zuheimi, @emonandels, @couch-potato, @carloserp2000, @connecteconomy, @natorious, @dracosalieri, @detlev, @myvoter, @qwesttexas, @skririm, @looftee, @fingersik, @razorborn, @steveitt, @marxrab, @cryptodragon313, @ctrl-alt-nwo, @crazykipps, @hackerwhacker, @rolf.bakker, @contentguy, @graveric60, @dankh, @passion-fruit, @david777111, @betag, @richard78624, @queenpine, @c86l, @billyjohnsonart, @wonka, @sighmanjestah, @minotaura, @cobramovin, @dazanar, @mandagoi, @etcbits, @papascrubs, @clysse, @jznsamuel, @eliel, @indepthstory, @ericwoelk, @stadsmanneke, @hebro, @user786, @laloelectrix, @elprofe62, @youknow212012, @scottish01, @bnt, @budimir, @recrypto, @matiasrodrigo, @uruiamme, @mk40, @datosin, @patasieduagh, @cityofzanj, @arqetype, @ally1of4, @vmsolutionsltd, @ubertec, @carwilva, @frostyamber, @babes-mm, @gichan, @justcallmemyth, @warriorlion, @yaoyeguard, @flepmajoor, @chrisx, @skyrex, @azethine, @doughnutsmuggler, @tonygags, @enomujjass, @pf-coin, @debugger, @sahar.meshkin, @dxgam, @mintsauce, @ridi20, @dattabitcoin, @jungleebitcoin, @king-aceh, @jony, @ritsjert, @shehryar, @hintenberg, @oromisglaedr, @nickdavison, @digitizemycash, @capitalpink, @scribblexio, @digital-gypsy, @coinmeister, @gose, @john1981, @skaylap, @tuakanamorgan, @edb1984, @cantribute, @v0nd, @anacristinasilva, @joecoleman, @mcfelix15, @aworandx, @qzsg, @minjun, @paugamit, @infidel100, @surgeo, @kenhudoy, @chedo, @diverse-thinker, @johnlue
Ring # 4 found: http://www.steemit.com/steem/@leesunmoo/successtrainer
| Ring Size | Votes in Ring | Votes outside Ring | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| 149 | 149 | 0 | 1 |
User in this ring: @inverse, @woojin, @mooncat4289, @jingdol, @muyoung, @sophiamom, @signalandnoise, @vip, @morning, @ninzacode, @leesunmoo, @jay4u, @btcbtcbtc20155, @sokoloffa, @lsc9999, @kview, @kopasi, @ssm1810, @tommycoin, @stylo, @jyp, @inchonbitcoin, @dubi, @ksc, @sigizzang, @arama, @twinbraid, @lhy, @kachinhenry, @sanghkaang, @chromium, @very, @dongu, @superremnant, @july01, @votelotto, @steemexwon, @foodmap, @steem-myanmar, @gotoperson, @neojew, @neogia, @cljg918, @abduhawab, @yuslindwi, @gifmaster, @mandela, @intrepidthinker, @anemona, @jondahl, @behappy7, @seongbuk, @gogumacat, @m8586, @bitcoinsig, @onizuka, @coinkorea, @fernandam, @jazznism, @maa, @goldenman, @jongyeong, @thatgermandude, @ludorum, @toru, @martin007, @tworld, @kskarthik, @changkyun07, @venti, @cherryblossoms, @ludorum-pick, @innovit, @bosman, @daystar, @insic, @ihsan, @pys, @palejack, @koreaculture, @toran, @escher, @temps88, @musicholic, @pyorinho, @maruchi, @teora, @lastofw, @shinidanitv, @ki844, @leomichael, @jeongmincha, @jaguarb612, @toptimist, @nemjun, @jonver, @kaliam, @mattchoi, @gunchul, @usim, @uplus, @choind, @waystobecalm, @freshstuff, @rdccsteem, @acceptkim, @soyo, @boostyou, @danbain, @teojin0503, @oldtaste, @successtrainer, @ghana531, @ammonoidea, @krdoko, @hangeul, @sbg, @yoona7487, @leesongyi, @dmy, @kim0jh0, @sunnnside, @coinist, @zusteemit, @azathoth1942, @iieeiieeii, @philipkoon, @benniebanana, @yoons, @huchu, @laivla, @geusgod, @bemore, @tuvero, @steemit-korea, @steemfuzzy, @meadowolf, @minsa66, @heejin, @no1wolf, @beajinsu, @yidar, @nkc79, @korecaster, @pald, @zweiblue, @snow-airline, @foooodman, @kyongkyulee
Ring # 5 found: http://www.steemit.com/blockchain/@mericanhomestead/my-last-youtube-video-freeing-my-subscribers-you-don-t-have-to-be-held-hostage-anymore
| Ring Size | Votes in Ring | Votes outside Ring | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| 158 | 158 | 0 | 1 |
User in this ring: @rafael1983, @dwells, @lovleacloud, @pennsif, @pennies, @mongosmash, @jtitus07, @beatitudes8, @pizzamacgyver, @warriormom, @jarobbins11, @hopespringsetrnl, @essentialoilmom, @mamahubbard, @joce289, @gulfcoastgardner, @gordoe, @joshua-1, @chikkadea, @jeremiad, @k1k1, @hotham, @northofatlanta, @tuck-fheman, @nikolai, @full-measure, @arcaneinfo, @artem-sokoloff, @tommyquest, @ausbitbank, @fulltimegeek, @khursani, @bitland, @krystle, @adamt, @animus, @bola, @arcurus, @papa-pepper, @brianphobos, @jasonstaggers, @tommycordero, @jhonprinces, @joshsigurdson, @themonetaryfew, @runridefly, @sammie, @daveks, @freeinthought, @ghasemkiani, @titusfrost, @allyouneedtoknow, @yuriks2000, @rigaronib, @inarix03, @lucashunter, @wakeupworldnews, @ianstrat, @shady, @geggi632, @chromiumone, @kennethbosak, @tigercats, @little-peppers, @a-condor, @ijavee, @azlicr, @honusurf, @macstyly, @eyeofthestorm, @sawang, @plainof6glaciers, @estronitex, @pbock, @mutant-x, @toniesteem, @grandpa-pepper, @truthceeker333, @charxrid, @moksamol, @patrickmohr, @froghollow, @dune69, @makecents, @omninova, @nap-g, @roadkill, @joklahoma, @barbara-orenya, @garden-to-eat, @greenacrehome, @schlees, @eggmeister, @opinizeunltd, @scorchdojo, @shahzadnisar, @jiva34, @thelemicdragon93, @rohnsleather, @robc, @nristen, @countryprepper, @greyman, @thelionwithinus, @securedcomputer, @cheapassbastard, @timmo3663, @urbansimplicity, @raincountry, @bucko, @gregorythomas, @mkcmst, @saved4newlife, @simms50, @daddykirbs, @mygraymatter, @drprepper, @lifewright, @unclemike, @gardener, @ironshield, @papermill2006, @bthompson, @jacoblesterread, @marillaanne, @stormriderstudio, @bernz78, @benzomatic, @maxdevalue, @lokii, @henaynei, @beyondmountains, @travelersmemoire, @afhusna786, @theywillkillyou, @whytedragons, @gyanibilli, @bakermom, @dafinds, @nolongerignored, @benjust123, @freetissues, @engineertomas, @sandhillson, @thehomesteadlife, @raynewman729, @ernstjan, @minighomestead, @jenwen, @stortebeker, @olinweisz, @gregandsandyk, @agilblade, @flightgod, @piggypower, @nuedareniel, @blaze007, @inanna
Ring # 6 found: http://www.steemit.com/introduceyourself/@marle718/hola-comunidad-de-steemit
| Ring Size | Votes in Ring | Votes outside Ring | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| 47 | 47 | 1 | 0.9591836734693876 |
User in this ring: @etnique, @jupiter5, @marle718, @ivan-perez-anies, @juanmiguelsalas, @heiditravels, @avellana, @twinner, @gargon, @pgarcgo, @wartrapa, @efrageek, @moisesmcardona, @albagargon, @joaquinpixan, @nomadnessie, @crowe, @titin, @betamusic, @jgcastrillo19, @juliamateo, @teo, @dresden, @alfredozofio, @dulcinea, @mdcomes, @cervantes, @aniestudio, @assus, @jorlenbolivar, @tamim, @loreennaa, @teacher, @tincho, @fidel-castro, @mckenzie259, @acromott, @clacrax, @osmerj, @gmaktub, @oscarcc89, @kilianmiguel, @bwmiao, @adipranatahendi, @joseluishimself, @lrsm13, @cindycam
Please let me know what you think of this experiment and help come up with better ways I can improve it to accurately eliminate voting rings from Steem! :)
Also please comment, vote and resteem if you found this post interesting :)
I see that you claimed I am in some sort of "vote ring" for upvoting the post by @mericanhomestead. I have no idea how you reached this conclusion as I have no users on autovote.
I upvoted and resteemed the post last night, and will actually be driving over to meet @mericanhomestead in person next week. I'm just upvoting content that I find enjoyable.
Say hi to Zac for me, he's a top guy :)
This is an algorithm which seeks to detect patterns of similarities among upvoters which may be indicative of a voting ring. I am not accusing anyone of anything. Merely attempting to work with the community to develop my approach to a point where it is a reliable and consistent means of predicting voting rings. As with any experiment, there are levels of statistical confidence which exist. While I have not included an exact confidence for this first experiment, it was heavily implied that this was an early stage and not very confident trial. Hope you understand and can commit to helping me improve for my next trial. :)
Okay, I get that. Although maybe people with similar interests upvote similar content.
Yeah I follow @mericanhomestead and @papa-pepper and I upvote them. I think you may need to adjust your algorithm. Not everything is a conspiracy. Steemit has much more positives then negatives in my almost year here. Concentrate on + 😊
I'm in the same boat as @papa-pepper. I manually curate all of my posts.
Classic witch hunting.
Hey man, can you get with me on chat or discord quick?
Hey, yeah I'll jump on now
How can I downvote or is it just flag?
Same thing.
the sign of a guilty man!
Because I upvoted a guy talking about bringing his youtube subscribers to steemit? Or because you clearly suck as a programmer? Or because you are attacking new users and an awesome guy like @papa-pepper? Or maybe because I don't want to see you get paid for this garbage?... focus on going after real voting rings and maybe I would support you instead of releasing this garbage in the wild before its ready
just playing devil's advocate https://steemit.com/votingtrail/@acidyo/curation-trails-bad-or-good-for-the-platform
Please don't get offended. Discussion is good. Let's help me improve as a sucky programmer then :)
I'm an IT guy (not a programmer) and If I released this before it was ready, to test on my users, I'd get fired. So you're playing with an algorithm that has potential to do good but as you can see by the comments it is targeting and potentially chasing away new users that probably came here to follow a popular content creator from another platform.
Clearly you are a gifted programmer that would never do anything irresponsible as I pointed out but I think you put this out just to incite, troll, and most importantly to make money... But please don't get offended #sorrynotsorry... you should remove it til its ready or it should be flagged for trolling
I respectfully disagree. Programming is about collaboration and short feedback loops. I am sorry this post has not gone as well as it might have but I will not shy away from it. I am taking it on board and the next post will be done better. Hope you understand where I am coming from.
Wait...what?!??! So using streemian to follow other peoples votes is a bad thing?! i don't guess i understand...
Ive literally joined steemit yesterday and am already being accused of vote manipulation? Youre completely wrong.
Please don't let this type of post scare you away. This is just someone who is "playing sherlock holmes". He is fairly new, as per is profile, and has no idea what he is talking about - none of these are "voting rings".
Thanks man, pretty much what I thought
No problem! We get the occasional nut around here that tries to pass off their 'new' idea as "helping to better the community". lol These arguments have happened on the platform more times than I care to count, and they fall through every time. They do, however, reveal that the people screaming "unfair" are just upset because they aren't instantly popular on here. It takes time and hard work to move up on any social network, but especially this one.
Also, if you want to read a better response than mine, check out @lovejoy below. They get it.
Have an awesome day, @mrilevi!
Thanks man, this seems like such a fantastic community. It's amazing how much harder people try if theres money to be earned haha :D
It's true! But money also tends to muddy the waters at times when someone thinks that they aren't receiving enough of it, or feel that they are entitled to more.
It's an interesting dynamic for sure.
Good work encouraging!
Hey, same to ya, @papa-pepper!
Here here!! @ironshield <--- yes i'm on the list.
Likely an alt account for someone we know and love... ;)
Hahaha No joke!
Ignore this guy. Many of us use SteemVoter, Streemian and other tools as a means of using our voting power. My Steem Power is mine to use as I see fit. There are some here who think it's their place to attempt to demoralize anyone who doesn't fit their personal perspective on how things should be done. It's just them attempting to make everyone else conform to making Steem in their own image.
We had one guy accuse some here of scamming because of using these tools. Interestingly, that same person sold votes from his account. I guess that's more integrous? Go figure...
Enjoy yourself and do what you want.
Kinda curious how you came to the conclusion I am in a "voting ring"...I really don't have the programming literacy (or desire) to set that up. I manually upvote posts I like (and try to support other good steemians). If you want to do away with voting rings then that's your prerogative, but I have a feeling most of these people just follow and manually upvote one another...
Me as well. I curate manually and wouldn't know how to join a "ring" if I wanted to.
This post could just be an angleshoot to tag hundreds of people and get attention and some votes, while pretending there was a legit reason to tag everyone.
Same here, me too.
I just joined steemit yesterday and now I'm somehow in a voting ring because I liked a post by one of my fav YouTubers. Are you seeing this @mericanhomestead?
Don't worry about it @dwells. We are pleased to have you here. A lot of users got mentioned here that have nothing to do with anything.
Thanks @papa-pepper I'm not to worried. I just find it funny, I quit FB and joined steemit to get away from drama and 1 day in I'm accused of being in this voting crime ring. Cheers bro. We might meet some day soon. I'm good friends with Zac at @mericanhomestead. I live near him.
Well at least you made more money out of this thing (your comment) that I have in many weeks of being here hhhhhh. I hope they accuse me of something too.
This is well over a year old, how did you happen across it?
People might take offense to you exposing this....oh and i voted in 1, 2 & 3 and am not part of any voting ring.
Not exposing anything "his algorithm" was provided here https://steemit.com/steemit/@sigmundnash/is-there-a-steemit-api-capable-of-grabbing-latest-posts-and-its-upvoters and has nothing to do with voting rings
How can I get into one of these voting rings? If @papa-pepper is on board count me in.
Lol, not sure how I got in, but if I figure it out, I'll let you know!
i know! i must have missed the meeting where they passed out the decoder rings and showed everyone the secret handshake 😉 crap, i miss out on all the goodies and get lumped in with a bunch of alleged conspirators 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😜😎
Accuse me of this crap again and I will sue you for defamation...
Clearly you don't understand what FOLLOWING !!!! is all about BUCKWHEAT
No reason to be mad.
This post is just the authors interpretation of what's going on here.
I think he has never heard of curation trails. In stead of leaving an 'angry' comment you could just explain what's going on :p
Peace! <3
I'm a successful parent of 20 years and the number one rule for naughty children is never reward naughty behaviour. Swift harsh punishment correctly and precisely directed results in never having that boundary crossed again .
I like your view on it. Teaching what's right is also important. If you don't understand what/how you did something wrong, and you're a bit stubborn, you eventually won't care. Some people just don't care much about negativity or emotion.
I guess we're both right.
Negativity is an essential part of the human psyche.
All things that exist have a place.
Poorly disciplined emotions creates manifestations of inappropriate negativity.
I second that motion, it is defamation what he is doing, and it should be punished.
Wth... Im being accused of being in a group for this ends? Its really stupid. I came here for around four days, still learning many things, and you jump to conclusions? You should come here and give me apologies.
You are not alone, many new users made this list and are offended. I hope your time here improves from this point on. Have an upvote!
Thanks @papa-pepper, came here few days ago, but I know you're well known and a good being, around community. Cheers!
First of all, I really feel confused about being mentioned on those lists. Second of all, I'm a newbie who signed up today. (exactly, permitted today) Last, I can't understand what the hell you do using just ridiculous means.
DO NOT WORRY ONE BIT. THIS PERSON IS WAY OFF TARGET. Way way off base!
Thank you ! I'm just gonna ignore that ^^
Could you use https://steemdata.com/ service for larger sample size and more accurate results?
Do you plan to share this algorithm or python source code? It would be interesting to see and may be we could improve it together.
False accusations are being made here folks!
First, for your post to have any meaning whatsoever, you must define what voting rings are.
Secondly, your methodology has to be more substantial than: I ran this algorithm, and here's what it spit out! Conclusion: collusion!
I can see from the comments that you're raking up the false positives pretty fast.
Finally, Steem is a stake based voting system on a blockchain. Each person's stake is their own personal property and under the existing rules, they can use it to vote in any manner they deem appropriate.
Do you intend to shame all of Steemit into voting randomly to avoid the appearance of collusion?
I think you're possibly well intentioned, but you may be trying to untie a Gordian knot of rapidly evolving social communities. Because two or more authors all support each other, if anything, indicates that they enjoy each other's work, and have formed social bonds.
That you see some nefarious collusion, may be your own hasty conclusion.
Some great points here, thanks. Have defined a voting ring now in my article. I can see how this could have been handled better now. Some false positives were inevitable but there has likely been a lot more than that in this first trial. apologies for any offence. Absolutely not intended :)
I'm not offended, I just think you're a little hasty in going down this not so well defined rabbit hole. :P Nevertheless, scour the blockchain and see what you find. I'm sure it won't be the first or last time. :) Best of luck.
Agreed. Not claiming to be an expert here but thought the community would be interested in the first trial. It could have been done better, agreed. :)
But it looks like I was onto something. So I have learned that these exist https://steemit.com/votingtrail/@acidyo/curation-trails-bad-or-good-for-the-platform
Surprised there is not more amazement that these are allowed. :0
Yeah, if you keep digging you will find seemingly endless discussion about many of these novel responses to the game that is the Steem blockchain, here on Steemit. We've got bots, trails, reward curves... It goes on and on.
Again.. 'allowed' is a funny concept here. It's a complex stake based system. It would be dead tomorrow if someone could just go around telling everybody what they could and couldn't do with their stake. The rules are in the code, after all. They are able to be modified with enough consensus, but the system favors free and unhindered use.
thanks for your level-headedness. I will take all this feedback on board and my next post will be done better!
It's serious though but u should look up on ongoing project and how they are being supported. Rosana algorithm and can be mistaken
I can't find any info on this algorithm you mention, can you elaborate please?
Seriously?
You really need to work on them programming skillz. For the record. No I am not. Also I vote manually and have never used any kind of autovoter
Same here, bud!
It's the best way!
This is true!
It's good to see you back dude! I am gonna add you to my voting ring ;0)
YUS! Score!
Thanks, man! It's good to be back.
Thanks for the mention? :P
Check out https://streemian.com if you haven't already ;-)
I almost forgot I still was inside the trail.
What do you think? Are trails good or bad for steemit?
This needs more upvotes. Clearly collusion exists
@simundnash, what you are doing here is irresponsible, offensive, and (despite your good intentions) not in the best interest of steemit. I'll explain why.
First, you can claim you're not accusing anyone, but you're basically saying "hey, people are abusing the system and I've developed a means to find them. These are suspects according to my system." Sure, you admit the algorithm is still a work in progress, but now you have put people (who have nothing to do with voter rings) on the defensive. For some new users, this is the first time they are being mentioned in a post (a big moment) and to them, they are listed as a suspect (in their own mind). These people are not going to want to invest in a community that seems to accuse people based on an unpolished system.
Second, it's offensive to those of us who work our butts off for the upvotes we earn. We aren't just posting and relying on voter rings to generate money for us; we work hard for those funds. Sure, some people abuse the system, but by and large, people on steemit make their own success.
You're also trying to crack down on a behavior that is not, as far as I can tell, against the rules. So you are alienating people for something thatreally isn't the huge problem you make it out to be. Voter rings are not harming steemit overall. While it would be nice to see a system free from voter rings, why would you alienate steemit users to achieve that goal???
Feel free to continue perfecting your algorithm, but be gentle with how you mention others. You've done no one any favors including yourself.
Lastly, publishing this post was irresponsible. You mentioned this system was incomplete...but you still felt the need to list all the steemians who could be potential suspects (call it what you want, you accused them). Why would you publish something with so little factual evidence? If you wanted to develop such a system with the help of others, you could have easily done so with a post that didn't name names. The fact that you chose to include names made this feel like much more of a personal attack (which I can only assume was not the intention).
mind your own shit man we voting for things we like, its not like we a bunch of whales eating all the steem
I don't know what is happening and I think you don't know how curation trail works, or I think you never been in a contest and win one and see where the vote have come.
The last "ring" we are the ones that follow the cervantes witness, I do not know why you have put us here as if we were doing something bad ....
I agree. All we do is support our fellow Hispanic people here. Nothing bad.
Interesting. I think the primary problem with your algorithm if that it catches a lot of new users like me. I just voted for some random posts on the front page and no other posts yet. So it yields some false positives.
Maybe tweak it so it filters out very new users and takes into account "front page" posts .
This is a very valid point. thanks for your help!
Why am i tagged on this? Im a new user so def not a part of a voting ring. Some of the people above may have been popular on anothrr platform before they came here, thus they may have a lot of buzz from their initial appearance here.
The one I upvoted was a popular youtuber and I dont upvote all his things just the ones I like which is what its supposed to be about
Exactly...an alreasy popular person getting votes isnt a voting ring
Lol!
I follow ypu btw, love your posts on steem-polcaypse...ever thought of doing something game of thrones inspired?
I have no clue what "Game of Thrones" even is, besides a television show. Someone else could try something like that though.
eliminate voting rings from Steem! :)
Can you please explain what this voting ring is and how i got taged in it? as far as i see there post that people have upvaoted
Wow, you are awesome! I joined steemit yesterday and now I'm somehow in a voting ring. lol.
Me too! I kind of feel special. I've only been here a day and Ive already been accused of being in a crime ring. Lol.
I think this algorithm is not enough to figure out the vote ring.
Welcome to steemit, both of you! Don't let this speedbump discourage you; we really have a pretty stellar community here! Welcome aboard!
Thank you so much! You are so kindness!
Thank you kind sir or madam.
They got "their algorithm" from @sethroot from this poet https://steemit.com/steemit/@sigmundnash/is-there-a-steemit-api-capable-of-grabbing-latest-posts-and-its-upvoters just latest posts and upvoters
@sigmundash, does this algorithm find something like curation trails? Or what does this algorithm actually mean?
They have no algorithm "his algorithm" was provided here https://steemit.com/steemit/@sigmundnash/is-there-a-steemit-api-capable-of-grabbing-latest-posts-and-its-upvoters and has nothing to do with voting rings. Just a list of upvoters attached to new posts scheme to get votes
edited to included better explanation
Haha we just can't have nice things. Don't doubt this kind of thing is going on...people love to game the system.
Why do you have me in a voting ring. I act alone.
Same reason as me I suppose. You voted.
Interesting, you've managed to put me into a "voting ring" for simply following one of my favourite youtubers?
I think the detection needs some work as I've been a follower of Zac for some time and regularly comment and upvote his posts so it's not a case of blind voting for financial gain.
On the flip side, tagging everyone in popular posts was an interesting way of getting lots of people to come here and look at this post...
Ding ding ding!
I feel left out! I am not mentioned. 😤
Must... Try... Harder... ! :o)
I must have chosen the wrong voting ring
I was added to this list...but i am not part of a voting ring...i hope you weren't trying to assume all these users are part of this too.
no not all. algorithms arent good at avoiding offence. my bad :)
Welcome to flag city with this crap!
or have a discussion about it?
or actually write your own code? instead of this one https://steemit.com/steemit/@sigmundnash/is-there-a-steemit-api-capable-of-grabbing-latest-posts-and-its-upvoters that @sethroot gave you
that is an api. do you know the difference between an api and an algorithm?
yep do you?
so what?
to make your post of any use, firstly, you have to explain what the heck the Voting Rings are and why should anyone bother
seems completely off. do these users even mutually follow each other? are the voting mutual? i mean it is a social platform so its pretty normal for a person to like 5 posts in a timely manner from the same author
you tag like half of steem so you can make a quick $5.... you sir got flagged lol
exactly what he did!
I am really not impressed that my name is here...I take offense
So isn't this algorithm just telling you that lots of people tend to vote on posts by authors who have a history of posting high value content? Odd that...
Instead of downvoting you, I decided to post a response: https://steemit.com/steemit/@chitty/how-to-join-my-secret-voting-ring
Beware, many of my "voting ring" will be voting it! lol.
I am in your list and because of that I have flagged you (My second flag on Steemit in almost 1 year, thanks for that :( ) because.. I am in complete disagree with your statement. Who tell you I am in a voting ring? A "work in progress" algorithm? Really? I curate with hand and with a BOT also and is public, I do not hide it and do not need anybody making the papel of the police to look for it. I do not like police and you are being one right now...
Are you like trying to say how people should behave on Steemit?... Feel the needs to organize something? Go to Cuba or North Korea to do that please... leave the Blockchain free!
Pd: sorry for any mistake in my english
lol, no problem sir
I come from Cuba so I know about what Im talking about. For sure you not... Good luck in Steemit!
Congratulations @sigmundnash!
Your post was mentioned in my hit parade in the following category:
Congratulations @sigmundnash!
Your post was mentioned in my hit parade in the following category:
You may have programming logic but you don't have enough common sense to actually know what you have discovered. Thereby potentially making you eligible for an award of Darwinian proportions!!
And do not try to tell me I don't know what I'm talking about. It's programmers like you that keep quality control and software testers employed!!!
MOREOVER, you say, don't be offended no one is accusing you of anything ... And yet you make it clear you think you've found voting ringss ..... you are so thoughtless as to say this crap and then think you can submit this without causing harm????
Really!!!!
No. You have managed to find people who have promoted Steemit, and brought in new people ... and now you've upset the new active people.
AND you don't even know that what you've also discovered is rings of people who have a great deal of common intersts.
YOU NINCOMPOOP ... YOU ARE CAUSING HARM TO THE PLATFORM
I downvoted you even though it won't count for anything much.
Not a programmer just a troll. They fished for a script https://steemit.com/steemit/@sigmundnash/is-there-a-steemit-api-capable-of-grabbing-latest-posts-and-its-upvoters ran it, mentioned every upvoter, made comments about voter rings (script has nothing to do with voting rings), and viola $8
I'm willing to give him benefit of the doubt because you know we've seen "programmers" that don't have a lick of sense reguarding testing and a hefty round of peer review and worse unable to discern if they have proper query logic and evaluate what types of groupings they have really produced. BUT I'm also willing to admit your hypothesis could have some merit except it would take us from the world of ego-driven motives to the world of the insane wherein one hopes to be fed by the very hand one is biting. Admittedly ego-driven and insane can be a pair. I'm hoping for ego-driven programming novice and steemit newbie.
that is ridiculous. I used the api to feftch posts. after that the algorithm is called upon. did you not notice the remarkably significant amount of actual people that admitted to being involved in curation trails AKA voting rings? the algorithm had some merit, I just did not account for how offended the false positives would become
I think you left out 2 variables. Vote delegation and communities.
this is a useful piece of feedback, thank you. I think I will begin my efforts for the next trial by focusing on one community at a time!
It seems all the replies on that voting ring post are from people with horrible reading comprehension. This voting algorithm is an excellent idea, I hope you continue in spite of the pushback from the ignorant.
much appreciated
clearly from the shitstorm you've started there's a flaw in you methodology as well as your algorithm, not to mention your tactless presentation. go back to the drawing board and refine your technique
Yes, I believe something like voting rings do exist, I don't care, if somebody found an easy way to make some money here good for him or her, you can write about it every day and it won't go away. The ideal scenario would be people actually reading the articles and only upvoting the ones they like, unfortunately this is not so, lucky for me cause my posts aren't that good and if people only upvoted good stuff I'd probably have a negative SP.
You maybe interested in this. I recommend you to expand this research:
https://steemit.com/steemit/@clayop/finding-communities-social-network-analysis-on-steemit
Damn!
I'm not in any of the rings!
I always get left out.
It's always the little guys that miss out on all the good stuff.
What kind of nonsense! I vote for people who, in my opinion, write interesting posts. Your algorithm is completely nonsense.
They fished for a script https://steemit.com/steemit/@sigmundnash/is-there-a-steemit-api-capable-of-grabbing-latest-posts-and-its-upvoters ran it, mentioned every upvoter, made comments about voter rings (script has nothing to do with voting rings), and viola $8
@sigmondnash I see what you are trying to do, I appreciate the opportunity for discussion, however it's pretty awkward for those who are new to the Steemit community finding their names on this 'voting collusion' list. Just so we're on the same page a colluder is:
Intended or not, that is the accusation.
People following and upvoting @mericanhomestead are especially not colluding. He's a (former) youtuber who is transitioning to Steemit. You may see 10 of thousands of 'colluders' someday following him. Peace. @ironshield
I'm in a ring? WOOOOW!
Wait, I used to name those things as "streems", birds of a feather flock together.
There really is no need to list innocent people in this list of so called ring voters. I can assure you that this post is only going to be receiving lots of views and votes and it really only just serves the author by making him more money on steemit. The code or algorithm used to arrived at this conclusion is obviously flawed.