Steemit is a dictatorship, and I learned it the hard way.
For the past 12 hours I have been the target of a personal attack both verbal and with flagging by the endless bot army of one @berniesanders (or @nextgencrypto or @engagement or 100s of other FAKE profiles) , the self-proclaimed dictator of steemit. If this is what @ned and @dan envisioned, then I want no part of it.
And neither should you.
I know some people here depend on the income from steemit. I am certain they will continue posting till they get big enough to attract the attention of the dictator, who will then bury them.
Like so:
Anyone can be next.
No one is safe.
The platform is doomed as long as @berniesanders is allowed to terrorise its users.
Me, I will go post my content somewhere where stort stories, technical marketing guides and random life tips will not get me called names of personally attacked. Because apparently, posting original content on this platform is punished if it threatens the dictatorship in any way and is considered "being a bitch". Or as he put it:
That's what you get for acting like such a bitch. GFY, don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.
Since posting original content and promoting it is considered being a bitch by this self-proclaimed (and undisputed!) dictator of steemit, I will now go be a bitch elsewhere, until someone decides that is platform is worth saving from the likes of @berniesanders .
Until then, I truly wish for you all to find a rewarding platform to post on that is not seeded with so much hate and negativity. Or one that has leaders who care about it being a content platform more than about their own profits from it.
Let me know if you come across one of those.
I did not come to steemit to be attacked. I was here to share my writing, and get feedback from as many readers worldwide as I could. Apparently, that's not what steemit is about. Steemit is all about being bullied by those with the power.
Peace out.
P.S. I would like to personally thank @patrice , @reggaemuffin , @furious-one , @locke , @suesa and everyone else who took the time to speak to me on Discord. I am also logging off Discord for a few days as I am worried the verbal attacks and bullying will follow me there. Going to focus on writing for whatever platform welcomes me.
Good luck surviving the cesspool of crap posts and bully-whales!
LOOK AT THIS WHINY "SLUT" (she said it!) JUST DYING FOR ATTENTION!!! WAAAAH!!! I'M QUITTING!!!!! WAAAAAAHHH!!! NO, I'M GOING TO POST SO I CAN GET MORE ATTENTION!!!!!! WAAAAAAH! DUMBASS TECHSLUT, JUST WAIT TIL FRIDAY!!!!!
I love you bernie... i will admit I feared you before and complained and whined about your behavior....but now I love you now... I was wrong... I was so wrong... you are protecting the platform
@fyrstikken on steemspeak.com chat is talking about it and this is amazing! I love it! Man this is so amazing you really are representing the peoples interests @berniesanders
We have a real gem in this post and we should really study it for future generations
No, I am just replying so you can waste your power downvoting me.
I wouldn't be surprised if she started calling you anti Semitic for calling her "whiny". She also lied when she claimed that minnowbooster has a anti abuse policy.
They made a name only policy but when I reported abuse to them, they claimed they have no experience on it.
Steemcleaners only flags the major abusers not the little abuser low quality shitposters and they only monitor major tags. By claiming they follow steemcleaners list, they were allowing a hell lot of abuse that would be considered abuse by their own list which says posts less than three lines is abuse.
They are liars.
Actually, most people are safe, just not moronic users like yourself who decide to act a little too big for their britches. Like I said before, don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.
You wouldn't be earning shit here if you weren't paying for all of the votes and rewards yourself, that's a fact.
I asked you a question and you declared war on me because you're nothing but a bully. And that's all you will ever be. I used whatever SBD I had to promote my content to get more READERS not more MONEY. Not everyone is as greedy and disrespectful of the platform and the people on it as you are.
Also, I was here last year. And got three digit payouts without any kind of paid promotion. So yeah. Go ahead and insult me and my content. When's the last time YOU created anything of value here? Oh right. Never. You're nothing but a scammer who got lucky and is down to upvoting his own content cause NO ONE ELSE WILL even when paid.
You are the most pathetic creature I've had the misfortune of coming across online in the past... year at least. Hope you and your parents are proud.
They are, trust me. Much more so than the parents of a self-proclaimed "techslut" who doesn't know shit about tech.
You're a pathetic joke at best. Keep on throwing the insults around while trying to use that against me. Just shows how little self control you really have little girl.
Because self-control is when you attack random people and insult them because you can, right? Keep upvoting yourself. Because no one else will. It doesn't make you look pathetic at all.
See, you can keep talking all day...and, well, it has 0 effect on me. Now, on the other hand, I can simply put a bot on you and nobody will ever see anything you post again!
Now, who is the pathetic one?
I am not posting again. Did you even read my post? I am leaving this platform, and encouraging everyone else to do the same. Because you are abusing the system and hurting people because you're a bully. And nothing more. It's all you will ever be, and people around you know it.
@techslut I do know where you are coming from but the only logical thing to to is ignore and continue. Also by your own words, you claim to have received good reward last year and now have to revert to vote buying. Don't you realize that there is major flaw in that. That the platform is suffering?
I'm not siding with bernie here. He's disruptive. He does have a point in his initiative though. Regardless of how aggressive and egotistical that campaign is. You played to his desires though.
Humanity has regressed to everyone existing in bubbles. The moment there is some squeeze. The occupants react excessively. Although I don't follow you, I read some of your posts some days ago.
I recall reading how you once reached a point in life where you said you were done existing afraid. And would take life head on. Something like that..
Where is that individual now? You need more FUCK IT right now! You're a 'slut' for goodness sake. Dealing with difficulty is the most rewarding experience which shapes character. Learn from this.
haha @berniesanders is the best!!! Don't stop what you're doing!!
I mean with the amount in that account he is not really pathetic I mean there is something that he does pretty well in life, but your name alone is already something people may consider a sign of not interesting or something, don't know you further, but you encourage to leave steem because of a problem that is occuring to you and it may be the reason that berniesanders flagged you in the first place maybe.. I mean flagging crap is badly needed more since I see a lot of crap on steemit sometimes.. and also if you must steem for a living the urge to post crap is even higher it's something, just like the daily quote posts that to me are a sign of being out of creativity or don't knowing what else to post for a couple cents
He touched my backport.
Any platform that permits free speech by everyone on the planet will have a set of people who, in your terms, "terrorise its users".
What is it that you think @berniesanders dictates? He has no special or privileged position over any other user of the platform.
Hey Sneak, just checking I have this correct: if someone calls a colour scheme "gay", that is hate speech and unacceptable, but showing a blatant lack of respect for women and calling them bitches is all good?
You don't have that correct at all, and it would appear you have constructed a straw man with which to intentionally mischaracterize my view.
I think you will find from @berniesanders' -19 reputation score (if it is indeed to his content to which you refer) that steemit's community absolutely does not consider his content "all good".
Then why sit there and turn a blind eye as he pays himself heftily for it.
Too many newbies to full flag that need help understanding tags?
Dammit! I missed being able to upvote this hilarious coment!
He downvotes to hell anyone who dares to simply and politely ASK him for his motives, he attacks people with the power he has accumulated by using a botnet of fake users, and throws around insults like this is /b/, and you're telling me this is OK and accepted on steemit?
Everyone is permitted to vote (up or down) however they wish with their stake.
(FWIW, his "botnet" has no more effect on anything than if all of the SP in his various accounts were consolidated into one account. He just spreads it out to make it look bigger. It conveys him no specific advantage.)
As for his insults, I think you can see from his negative reputation score that his immaturity is not accepted at all by the users of this platform.
You know just as well as I do that my negative rep is due to ONE SINGLE USER with enough SP to do so. This does not convey the feelings of the "users".
That's a false statement. You seem to assume that I pay a lot more attention to you than I actually do.
My account it buried and no content I will ever post appear here anyway. He has the power and ability to abuse the flagging feature to silence anyone he feels like. THAT is a major flaw in the platform. And if it's not being addressed, then it is what will destroy steemit. People like him silencing people like me. While this behavior is supported and justified by you.
That raises an interesting issue. Maybe there should be a limit to how much rep damage (and also rep increase) any one member can do. That way we could avoid any of the centralised censorship that you are proposing, but it will still offer a level of protection against a single large SP holder who was intent on destroying another member.
It's also got me wondering... If one user can destroy you, then it should be possible for another equally powerful user to restore your reputation. Is the reputation score linear like that, or is there some other magic sauce involved?
You make an extremely valid point, as rep is highly gamable presently. Something like you're suggesting would provide some insulation against that, and make rep a more purposeful metric.
You are correct about rep being equally fungible in both directions. @skeptic has had his rep driven into the ground like a post by @berniesanders, and swiftly re-elevated by those that admire his trolling, unrepentant, rebellious ways.
@skeptic, if he could write better, could prolly write a book on rep.
Thanks!
Reputation is a non-consensus value, which is to say it's entirely a UI calculation. It has nothing whatsoever to do with your posting ability, posting reach, payout, or anything else.
Ah ok. I have been mixing up reputation with flagged posts. But still, if your posts get lots of flags they get hidden on most of the front ends.
well lets see if u can create or destroy thins threw seer intent alone example cat 1~infinity hurricanes then YES DUH!
He's one user with 100s of bots. Even if it was possible to limit the damage one of his users can do, he'll just use the whole army to reach the same cumulative effect. Perhaps the solution is some kind of "blocking" mechanism to allow users to block bullies' bots from downvoting them en masse. But I am getting the feeling no one is looking for a solution, but rather ways to excuse this type of behavior on the platform.
Why do you think that his multiple votes from multiple user accounts has some "cumulative effect"?
It does the exact same thing as if all of those accounts' stake were held by one account and made with one vote.
This kind of "blocking" would be nothing else but censorship based on subjective assessments. So who would you allow to decide whether an account qualifies as a bullies´bot account?
He does not have that power or ability; nobody is silenced as a result of flagging—by anyone, regardless of their SP. Your posts go through as normal. Nobody on steemit can silence anyone else.
You're being somewhat disingenuous, as you are silent no matter how loud you scream if no one can hear you. Posts from accounts with negative rep are invisible.
Screaming into a void.
What minnow can do with their stake what he does with his and not have their account nuked?
No account can be nuked by anyone else, regardless of how much stake they have.
It's a figure of speech meaning the account rendered powerless or useless. It is easily done to a minnow or even dolphin account whose reputation being destroyed can mean no longer being able to reach an audience making both social interactions and monetary gains significantly more difficult. For example it is a nuked account when downvoted so many times that the account holder is forced to power down and move to another account or another platform. Larger accounts that do not post can also be rendered powerless (proven by the abit&smooth experiment before the hardfork) but what you say about this user not having special privileges is a lie. We can see he is not held accountable like everybody he holds accountable himself. Blind eyes are turned with every thing that this user does that other users cannot do without "having their account nuked" or rendered powerless.
It makes me wonder how incestuous the top really is.
How many of the accounts with four digit numbers are all the same person?
Actually I can answer that. 4 of the accounts up there in the top 10 if you include @steemit appear to be @ned. I believe @freedom to be a developer but not a co founder. @blocktrades is an early investor. @val-a is an employee and I'm not sure who @mottler is but I believe them all to be 4 different people. Which brings us to #6 BS or NGC or engagement or whatever you wanna call him has climbed back up despite powering down heavy since the 13 week power downs started and maintains his spot as a top "investor" who clearly never paid a penny into the system aside from maybe buying the accounts off some rage quitters.
Yeah! Crapitalism.
Id bet the first 10k accounts that are still active are heavily salted with insiders playing roles.
#m2c
I like this.
All minnows can and should do at this point is cash out and leave steemit to bernie and his bot army. It's a lost fight because the people with the power put their greed waaay ahead of their desire for steemit to be a successful content platform. And since that's not about to change, and bernie and his bots will just get stronger, I recommend you cash out and seek out other platforms for content monetization.
He has mined considerable special privileges, and he especially likes to use them thusly.
I don't know why do you feel this way. Although, I understand your point but you have got decent readers, a good repu and wonderful contents. Don't let them win over you.
Stand Tall and very Tall.
I don't care if you are paid for those contents by @minnowbooster , @randowhale or any other service. That's your right to do so. I believe everyone should be paid for the "Time" and "Effort" they put in. That's how it works everywhere.
Just because you are a minnow, a lesser known personality or lack in skill doesn't mean your contents should goes unnoticed. It makes me sad that I have to see things like this.
I don't understand the flagging and how people are using it for malicious purposes. I believe flags should only and only be used for copy-paste contents only.
Just because you don't like a particular post doesn't mean other shouldn't too. You can leave it and the audience will decide it's fate. I know some people use these bots for even copy paste contents but that's a flaw in the bots. They have to be smart enough and refuse upvoting such contents.
Similar thoughts led me to establishing Tpot community and I hope it counters that problem.
At last, I certainly do not support the idea of leaving Steemit but that's your choice and I respect that.
Thanks!
Not even a week ago you were flagging people's comments on a post of mine. If you had more SP would you then be the dictator?
hmmm... @techslut ... what do you have to say to this??
I have seen this pattern a lot.. they say they gonna quit Steemit but still continues to give replies and make new posts and all.. Steemit is more addictive especially because of the reward.. no other platform can offer even half of what any average blogger can earn
And as for @berniesanders I have noticed a pattern.. he doesn't pick on innocent people who have never annoyed him with anything.. but once he is pissed at someone.. he can really show you some awesome magic with his flagging power..
as for the vision of ned and dan.. their vision is already true.. they wanted to make millions from selling steem which they already did.. no wonder dan ran away and is now selling all his remaining steem.. he is the reason why the price of steem turned so low recently..
as for me I really like the screen name techslut
hey techslut let's be friends okay
Many people can not handle Freedom. They can not cope where people can say what they want and use their stake how they want.
I don't approve of every move that Bernie makes, but in general he cares about the platform and he has the right to use his stake how he wants.
To be fair in the early days, I didn't get the concept of Stake based power either. If you don't like the ability of people use their stake you should probably go ahead and decide not to continue.
I hope you might stay around and see if the concept grows on you as it has for me. Either way, Peace.
He created the monster he's taking down. And taking it out on users as if he's an innocent avengalist.
You mean he started the bots and now he is fighting them?
That's how I'm reading it.
I can't stay. He's killed my profile and put a bot army on it to ensure every post I publish gets buried. This isn't freedom. This is violent oppression. Bernie cares about his own profits and ego. Nothing else. He contributes zero quality content and uses a bot army to generate profits in an unfair way. Heck, I didn't even know it was acceptable to have hundreds of bots on Steemit! No other platform would allow this!!!
I don't like the ability of people to use their stake to bully users who aren't as rich as they are. And no, I hope this concept does not grow on me because I don't want to be part of any community that supports and excuses this type of violent behavior.
I don't know where your rep was before but 63 rep is not dead. He didn't touch your earnings.
It is a flag, it is uncomfortable, I've received them as well. It doesn't actually cause physical pain nor does it equate to violence.
immutability is built into the blockchain earning isn't. I am not defending this, but I am having trouble following the extreme language.
He flagged you, he didn't knife you in the alley.
"didnt knife you in the alley" hahahaha
What happens there is that reps above 60 (or is it 62) do not get reduced by down-votes, but her complain as i understand it; is that when she posts she gets down-voted by several accounts, in this case, the interface still dims the posts because of the amount and stake of the down-votes, not because of her rep.
This isn't a dictatorship, this is capitalism. Pure, unregulated capitalism, with absolutely no way to fight back.
In the real world, past a certain point of influence, we might see the poor physically attack the rich. On steemit, there is nothing to physically attack. The only thing the masses can do to fight back, is leave and devalue the currency.
This is actually magnified drastically by the choice of the authors to use proof of stake rather than proof of work. Unless I'm mistaken, there is no way the masses can accumulate 51% to kick someone out. Only the top 51% of the people with the most power can do so, not 51% of the entire user base. Resulting in even more power in the hands of the rich.
The system is broken because of the idea that one person's vote is worth more than someone else's. I understand the need for it, because if every new account had the same voting power as an account with lots of power, you'd simply get hundreds of fake accounts.
If you look at reddit for a similar model, you know that they need a lot of systems and moderators in order to keep the site working the way it is. Downvote brigades happen there too, only there people get banned for it. There is no central authority on reddit, so nobody can ban anyone.
"Pure, unregulated capitalism,"
Capitalism established with a pre/flash-mine. So more like communism, really, where the party apparatchiks got everything at the start, and all the scraps going forward are spread around the plebs roughly equally.
"There is no central authority on reddit, so nobody can ban anyone."
I'd disagree. Some reddits are total cesspools of censorship. Look at r/Bitcoin. Absolute propaganda front.
Superb insight!
Also, some reddits get banned outright. Totalitarianism in action.
The incentives are there to decentralise the system. Irrational people with lack of understanding of the incentives are blocking us from getting there. And I agree it's not a dictatorship, but I do see a despot gaining more and more power.
Since this post was made, I have participated in two other posts that were similarly crushed, but broad support reversed the flags, and those posts both made more money than I have on all of mine in months.
@berniesanders would have to forego returns, at all, in order to counter the mob that has sprung up in support of those folks.
I found it unlikely, but it happened.
You're right. And I am sorry I dragged you to this awful hateful place. Let's go back to reddit where there's at least some moderation and case for the community. They've already paid me. :)
Pretty much everyone who doesn't kick Bernie in the knee is safe. You seemed to have taken the battle directly to him. Based on your comment section.
Why go start a fight with him and then be mad, it happens over and over. People should be able to predict the outcome.
I didn't kick him in the knee before my first bernie flag. In fact he posted the same thing he flagged me for posting.
Ever heard the term "victim blaming"? Yeah, you're right. We should all be good little sheep and dare not ask the dictator for his reasons to attack people. Let's blame the people attacked, why don't we?
Just keep saying to yourself that if you stay quiet and obedient, you won't be next.
No, I haven't can you please explain it to me.
Next-level satire?
I just can't tell.
Ever hear of the term "stopping". :)
Stopping what, exactly? Showing everyone that nextgetcrypto (AKA bernie) is a bully ruining steemit? Why should I stop?
Whining.
/shrug To stop getting flagged.
As long as there's something to whine about - I see it as my duty to point and whine.
You should hear me go off about online journalism, or what is left of it. All the whining!
<3
I am so sorry to hear about what has happened to you. I support you 100% and have resteemed this post. I hope the community on Steemit can get together and stop this kind of violent abuse once and for all, it is absolutely shocking to me to see this happening.
I have to say I totally understand how you feel, at least when it comes to actually posting good content and basically getting ZERO reward for it.
I have to wonder why I should post content here and not my own website. At least when I post content on my website I get organic traffic from the search engines and the content makes me money for years to come, not just the next 7 days.
And yeah, there are some real assholes on here.
I had some little pissant following me around for a week downvoting every comment and post I made. It didn't matter though because his rep was "0." However, if it had been someone with a rep higher than "60," it would have hurt me.
I totally agree with you. Time and efforts must be paid off. It cost only $100 to get your own blog running and if you face such horrible people here then why not look for organic earnings.
People are misusing flags. Flags should only and only be used for copy paste, plagiarize posts and contents that gives an impression on minimal to no effort put in such as a single image, video or meme. Those should definitely be discouraged.
The formula is simple, if you don't like a particular post LEAVE it and so should other users do. As for the LOGIC that they can use Bot services to upvote non-deserving contents then that's a flaw in the bots. And service like MB has a policy on that you should drop a comment to them.
The worse thing about flags is that it not just 'declines' the payouts for the flagged post but also hurts the Reputation that you have gained over the years.
Good points. I would add, though, that it doesn't cost anywhere near $100 to set up a WordPress blog. You cab grab a domain for about $15 and a hosting package for around $10 a month. So you can actually have your own website up and running for around $25. Once you have a domain and web hosting, you can actually set up as many WordPress sites on that as you wish. This is one of the services that I provide as part of my business actually. It's quite simple.
no, sorry but flags are being used correctly, she posts shit content and never deserved any money , sorry but its true! sorry for telling the truth please dont flag me ;)
But we need diplomatic thinkers like you to come join our steemspeak.com "Operation Steem Hodl Hurdle" where we have a Power Up Party and bring steem to $2 and then $4 by christmas
"she posts shit content and never deserved any money"
At least she's capable of using proper grammar and punctuation. Everything you post is undermined by the fact that you communicate like a middle-schooler.
Also love how you name-drop every whale on the platform in comments as if they are your "personal friend," trying to use them as a shield against the flags you probably know should be coming at your sentence-fragments.
""Operation Steem Hodl Hurdle" where we have a Power Up Party and bring steem to $2 and then $4 by christmas"
Delusionally optimistic, but I hope you succeed.
lolx.. @ackza Absolutely not in mode to flag anyone. I have never used my Flags accept for one post and that was someone who I had a fight with on Discord and he went on flagged all my contents. So, as a revenge I downvoted his only "One post" but then felt bad.
So, until now I have used only one flag.
As per, your logic of "shit posts" by @techslut I never said not to flag "shit post". But what is shit post "for you" is not necessarily "for me". I may have liked her simple posts talking about a latest tech update or anything else. Just leave it man if you don't like it and others should do the same. Hence, no rewards. And if that person uses 'self-upvotes' then you should use your flag.
Flags are for stolen, plagiarized, copy paste contents. Not everyone is as skilled, knowledgeable, schooled or brought up as you or any famours Steemit celeb out there. You should respect their simple contents. Unless, of course you want to drain the rewardpool "yourself" or want "steemit" to die before it even takes up.
But I don't see that as your intentions because I see @ackza working for the betterment of steemit (as you said about steemspeak). I want you to stand for the right thing than what is close to you.
I would have supported the flags, but I can't. Because the person wwo flagged @techslut is someone who is crazily Upovting his each and every Comment for about $40+. Does that make sense for him to talk about draining "reward pool" for "shit posts"? I don't think so.
You can post your content here and on your own website, that way you get the best of both worlds.
Community Liaison, Steemit
Please can you tell me how?
Thank you for your contributions and work. Looking forward to you being back soon.
As soon as bernie's reign of terror ends, if anything is still left.
This completely sucks!
Very sad to hear this is happening.
I dont know what else to say
Join me. Pledge to stop posting until the dictator is dealt with. Or not. Maybe you need the money and are willing to keep quiet to earn whatever the dictator allows you to. I am just... so disappointed that I invested time and efforts in this doomed attempt at a content platform.
I'm sorry you feel this way and we are always open to suggestions as to how we can improve the system. Unfortunately, "dealing with" Bernie isn't as simple as it may seem. And it's not just a philosophical issue, not even remotely. Steemit leverages the Steem blockchain which is an independent and open database. Every Steemit account is a Steem account, that's how people receive Steem for their posts. An independent arbiter of value (the Steem algorithm) assesses value based on its account holders stake, their upvotes, and their downvotes, and distributes newly created Steem based on that determination. We have no control over that protocol and if we did, it would immediately lose all value. In short, even if the Steem Team banned Bernie from Steemit, he would still be able to downvote content because the downvote is critical to enabling people to accurately value content. There are potential solutions to this problem, personally I think a community lead initiative with elected members that has enough SP delegated to it to punish bad actors is one type of solution that could mitigate this problem. But we are certainly open to proposals and anyone should feel free to submit github pull requests with the corresponding code. I understand and respect your decision to leave, but would much prefer that account holders with strong views on how we can improve the platform stay and help us make it better. Thanks for sharing your perspective.
Community Liaison, Steemit
He abuses flagging and downvoting. He bullies people into leaving. If there's nothing to do to discourage this behavior, the platform is deeply flawed.
I came back to try and make steemit better. Ask just about anyone who knows me. I've offered my help to anyone who'd take it - from utopian to minnowbooster to esteem to busy to ANYONE WHO ASKED. Why am I being punished for this?
I honestly hope there's something to do to save this platform. Until then, it's nothing more than an engine for botnet scams for bernie and the likes of him. And that just makes me so sad. Especially after all the time and energy I spent trying to help the community by supporting new users on Discord and offering to help anyone who has the platform's success in mind. And that makes me a "total moron" as he keeps calling me for actually believing steemit is a good and positive place to showcase my work.
Boy, was I wrong. I regret ever joining at this point.
Helping bad people is equal to harming good people, karmicly, imo.
They just ignore anybody who asks for help and pretend like there's nothing they can do about it. They're shooting themselves in the foot.
Think they will care when the price goes below a dime again?
This makes me sad. As in, sadder. I was already sad.
@andrarchy offered a potential solution.
Surprisingly, to me, I've seen this work, in an organic spontaneous way, in the last couple days.
Something more formal, as @andrarchy proposed, could work.
Then you could stay, and I could keep my silly grin every time I see your username =p
I am sticking around. Peer pressure works. Just not posting right now. Only commenting LOTS and curating and considering my next move. Also, waiting for this all to blow over.
Also, "...a community lead initiative with elected members that has enough SP delegated to it to punish bad actors..." sounds a lot like steemcleaners with some resources.
Not that it matters, 'cause it's not going to change, but I don't actually believe that. Every other market in the world works without negative prices. I think an alternate solution might be possible with something like a 2nd price auction.
Between that and vote removal (un-vote), I think the system could address all of the problems that downvotes address, without the flag wars. Of course, I'm not going to do the hard work it would take to prove (or disprove) that, so it's only a guess. ; -)
Except for fighting abuse, how would you manage that without flagging?
For people who accidentally vote an abusive posts, you'd use vote removal. "Consumer Reports" style services (bots) could even be established to automatically remove upvotes on posts that are identified as abusive, so (eventually) it wouldn't even be a manual process.
For people who would intentionally vote on abusive posts, they'd need two votes to get a payout, so they'd be forced to split their voting power and payout would be valued from just under half of their voting power. Therefore, instead of wasting half their voting power, it should be more profitable to use their full voting strength to vote for non-abusive posts.
Yeah... not sure how much you have dealt with getting people to remove their votes but its not easy. There is no good way to contact people, some people log out for days/weeks at a time, some people just don't care at all.
Sometimes you don't discover a post is plagiarized until the last minute, say 2 hours until payout, and there is no way to get 10 different people to remove votes in that time.
There is no practical way to do it without flagging.
I am just getting to know you and you want to quit on me? This is sad. I like people to quit on their own terms. I'm just 102 days old, still figuring out a lot of things. Can anything be done to change your mind?
Figure out a way to bring down the dictator, or take my advice - grab whatever is in your account and run. If he's not dealt with, this place doomed. And it doesn't look like anyone is doing anything to stop his bullying.
That sounds bleak. I wish there is something I could do. So sorry.
Why do you feel that way?
Because the success of the platform depends on the stakeholders.
Stakeholders can do anything they want with their stake. Stakeholders who disapprove can oppose them. And stakeholders who oppose that, can oppose that. And so on.
It all boils down to who is willing to stick to the drama the longest and match it with their stake.
I don't see how this dooms the platform. In fact, I see it as an avenue of possible growth.
Stakeholders can disapprove and oppose another stakeholder smaller than them. But who does in this case?
Imagine if Facebook had a massive stake holder who went around harassing users with accusations and name calling. Imagine if mark zuckerberg just said "I don't see a problem with this... Stakeholders first"
@ned & @sneak will see their users ran off the platform before they realise what gives their token value.
Not my point.
Because going below a dime looks bad?
Though i'm hoping it does, i think things might change then.
We also get more steem per voted vests.
The longest term hodlers stand to only gain in such a scenario, imo.
Because he will keep attacking, insulting and using his botnet to destroy anyone who dares question his reign of terror. Don't you see that?
Besides, with enough authors getting bullied into leaving the platform and then using other platforms (where they have more followers, perhaps) to tell the truth about steemit and who really controls it? Good luck trying to recover the reputation of the platform that is quickly becoming the 4chan of the crypto world.
Actually, there are tons of people here who appreciate what I do, you can see all of the new witness votes on @nextgencrypto just today!
its not the "what" that everyone have problem with. its the "how".
i bet that you are ugly in real life and this is just a way to express your sadness.
Oh you mean all your fake users? Your imaginary friends?
No, I don't. What is he destroying?
He's using flags when people talk bullshit for no reason! And against posts that have little to no views with $40+ rewards.
No issue here.
He's put his bot army on me to destroy any chance I have of getting even one viewer. He wrote so. It's his goal. Because I am a "moron" and a "bitch". And I am certain I am not the first nor the last he is doing this to. He abuses flagging non-stop and there's no way to counter this ABUSE of the tool. So he's also destroying, well, the meaning of flagging and downvoting. It's not for reporting abuse or spam. It's for bullying. You might as well change the dialog text.
owww
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This is so sad. The whole max flagging is bad. Not healthy for the platform. Maybe the platform will do better without the small fishes and the big fishes enjoy it.
What people dont understand is the psycological trauma that comes with flagging.
@techslut, so sorry about these attack and i dont blame you for leaving. Who knows mine or the next persons attack is just around the corner.
So much pity for the human folk as all of these may end and karma is just a very beutiful, loving ,caring bitch that never forgets to return favours.
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STOPhey, found you from a comment you just left... I guess you decided not to quit ? :P
Half quit. I am no longer posting on steemit (for now) but peer pressure made me stick around. I am active behind the scenes more than I am creating content right now. Curating lots, commenting a bit, resteeming at times. I was hurt and angry, but I am over it. Just... waiting out the shitstorm.
well some things do suck with steemit but the larger it grows and more people adopt the platform I think they will become smaller and smaller. I think you should stick and post too! Remember no platform is perfect!
No platform is perfect, which is why I currently believe I can do more good for the platform by doing stuff behind the scenes. Might not bring me stellar payouts like some of my posts did, but I think it's more important right now. Once I stopped being furious, ideas started to float up, and while my faith in the platform is still diminished, I have high hopes for the author community that developed here. I can see the flaws more clearly now and understand them.
Besides, taking this time off posting has done nothing but good to my follower number. I added close to 200 followers in the past week and a half and I am not very sure how that happened. :)
come on, even i know you wont leave..
it has nothing with bernie, reward pool, quality content and such, you re just trying to make another 100$ rant.
some of your friends should be honest and tell you how obvious it is. if you have any.
now do say goodbye 30 more times as usual..
your true friend <3
wow man you should come talk to the Viking Crypto King @fyrstikken at to http://steemspeak.com and chat with us about this project about to happen to bring steem to $2 then $4 by Christmas if we all organize a massive HODL power up party
we need players like you
"bring steem to $2 then $4 by Christmas if we all organize a massive HODL power up party"
Delusional optimism. You think you're going to add nearly a billion dollars in market cap by having a "hodl" crypto circle-jerk in discord? In 6 weeks?
This is so wildly optimistic as to be borderline magical thinking. Potentially a diagnosable mental health problem you should get checked.
Good luck man, I hope it works.
This is so wildly optimistic as to be borderline magical thinking. Potentially a diagnosable mental health problemthats enough. im in. ^^
I genuinely hope he's just effusive with energy, and doesn't think this is actually an outcome with a likelihood higher than a few percent.
Some marketing studies have shown that it costs 10 times more to market and acquire a new customer for a sale than it is to sell to an existing customer and retain them. The community has failed you in this instance and I am sorry you feel you have to leave.
You have been brave in speaking our mind and I am sorry you feel you have been bullied during your time on Steem. Sometimes all it takes is a spark to start a roaring fire, today you are that spark and perhaps in future changes will happen because of the stand you took and Steem will become a great place with a mutually respectful, supportive and kind community.
I remember when Steem was great and trending past $4 in price, posts just kept on getting higher in value and the all of cryptospace wanted in on it, if you open up the ceiling the Sky is the only proverbial limit left, if you set limits and clip wings, you will be left with a house full of grey, dull and unhappy birds.
Peace and love to the Steem community, I believe in it and hope you will return. Team @minnowbooster has got your back!
As a marketer I can tell you that you are absolutely right. Steemit always had an issue with user retention, and I believe that at least some of it is due to bullying and flagging attacks. Until something is done about the platform abuse and violent bullies, it will not be the mutually respectful, supportive or kind community. Because anyone trying to be respectful supportive and kind, like I tried, will get hurt. And anyone being a violent bully - will continue to succeed. It's how the platform is designed, apparently.
I disagree.
I think the user retention issue has more to do with the top 50 accounts circle voting themselves, voting their numerous alt accounts, trending all the time and getting most of the daily rewards for themselves.
So what is left for new users that come and commit their time creating decent content? Crumbs.
I have been around for some months and never had a flag issue nor have I ever felt trolled, EVER.
Well said. I agree with you completely.
Well said. You are quite correct, IMHO.
What do you propose? There is no way to prevent anyone from posting anything they wish, or to prevent people from voting, up or down, with the stake they hold. What changes would you like to see?
This is not facebook or reddit or youtube where a meaningless little troll is going around harrassing people. This is a decentralised network where it is up to the stakeholders what they allow people to do. When you decide you don't like people using the #steemit tag what do you do about it sneak? You use your stake to voice your disapproval. So when this stakeholder goes around voicing his disapproval in the manner that he does, and all of the other major stakeholders do nothing about it, (in fact they indirectly pay him to do it) that gives a very loud message of approval to the users who are not invested enough here to bother tolerating what you approve of. @techslut is one of the few who actually will voice this issue out loud and I've seen a lot of others quietly leave.
Maybe you should try blaming @dan, he's the one who designed the system. And it's being used EXACTLY like it was intended. Now, go smoke some more meth, you've almost got the methhead look perfected.
@techslut is nothing more than an attention whore. Just look at this post of all of the claims to be quitting then more ranting and whining any chance she gets. You all can piss the fuck off, this isn't what Steem was built for.
Allow me to clarify: I quit posting content on the platform. I still have some money in here, and some rewards to collect from last week. So while I refuse to contribute to this pyramid scam, I also refuse to stop commenting here.
I mean, if I stopped commenting, and you had nothing to flag, what would you do with all that power and free time? Something beneficial to the platform? We both know that's not going to happen as you're a selfish greedy little narcissist.
So keep on flagging my comments and wasting your VP on me. Like you said - attention whore. And I do love this type of attention, especially when I know it's causing you some losses and making you look like a total woman-hating troll.
It would be helpful to just stop graying out the downvoted content. That alone would change a lot.
In the "not just so easy" column, add the ability for the authors to block specific users from seeing their content. This gives each user the ability to speak only to their own fans.
In the "really huge problem" column add that STEEM does not have enough market value because the market is too narrowly focused on earning through writing and is 99.99% unaware of initiatives such as SteemMarket, Steem Files, and EDD Steem. And no. I've not used them yet.
How is this tied to the bully situation? Bullies always are more vicious in a tight space. Widening the STEEM pathway can provide distraction to the bully and allows their targets a wider space to slip past. Hysteria in general is easier to stir up in a tight space.
Then in the "really really huge problem" column, also caused by the narrow market focus on earning through writing, add, "Correct, immediately upon the authors' entry into Steemit, the lack of education on effective curating." This should include blinking lights and a required-reading-hurdle.
Also add, "Correct the lack of education regarding the benefits of donating and leasing of Steem Power to the community". There's no real reason people should be freaking the hell out over this activity, except for the lack of education. The activity is not abusive. There will be some who do abuse their privilege but the people delegating and leasing out the SP have the ability to refuse to do further business with the abuser, even immediately pulling back the SP.
Thank you for asking for input.
Nice input. I like your columns. Not sure what is this all about. I get that there was flagging for whatever reason, but I don't see why the comments has to get this much with just repeated cycles of the same meaningless ranting.
Someone is abusing the system. No one would do anything about it. Someone is complaining endlessly, many are listening. No one would do anything about it. Many are abusing the system. Many are complaining. No one is listening. Still the same results: No one would do anything about it!
Also, I am wondering why @techslut is complaining about @berniesanders's inappropriate language?
I personally don't like swearing, insulting or name calling. But I wouldn't call myself that which I don't want to be called either.
In that regard, doesn't Slut in @techslut's username has similar meaning to what Bernie used to call her inappropriately?
English is not my first language, so please explain that to me.
Note: I am not trying to take sides here and I am sorry if I offended @techslut or anyone. But there are many problems in this platform that needs dealing with before dealing with @berniesanders
Actually, dealing with such problems will eventually deal with the flagging issues as well and many other things.
I am thinking of leaving steemit as well, but not because of @berniesanders. Actually he has brought to light some issues that someone else wouldn't care or dare dealing with.
Anyway, it was tiring to read all this. Good luck everyone
Well, all I wanted was to reply to @sneak. But evidently I have poor aim.
You'll have to ask @techslut about her name. I can't answer that as I'm not her.
Vote selling is not a bad thing. It's just people freaking out about it. It actually gives people a way to use their SP to earn more STEEM without taking it out of the STEEM platform.
The more STEEM stays in the STEEM platform system the more it is worth on the crypto markets. The less that is available on the market, the more it is worth because it is more difficult to acquire.
Some people have the above idea backwards somehow.
Edit: I should also add that the value of the post payout depends on the market value.
The problem is there is no healthy, mature internal markets. There are ways to sell digital and real world projects and services and accept SBD at least but these are not known to most people. Until a currency has a healthy ecosystem, it is not a currency.
So. That brings us to people running crazy bot farms, voting each other up and posting over and over and over in one day.
Or, back to leasing SP. Now listen, there's something magically beneficial to STEEM for SP to stay inside the STEEM platforms. Something along the lines of investments in Steemit. It's in code in the white paper. If you find someone to decipher it completely, let me know. ... Because SP is beneficial to STEEM, then it stands to reason that people who have tons of SP should be able to some how use it to make money.
And basically delegated SP is redistributed wealth ... Which is suppose to be a fabulous thing these days so, I don't understand all the rage.
As to leaving Steemit, this is a good time to be a minnow. Just go read blogs. Find 20 or so people to stalk until you're friends. This is where you profit by making connections. Oh! And every week add at least 5 newbies to follow.
Just, let the whales blow and go. They'll either figure it out or run off your competition. The weaker ones go fast and the stronger probably won't bother to enter. BUT you'll have friends and friends are STEEM (or gold).
Nice to accidentally meet you.
Hi @marillaanne ,
It is indeed nice to meet you accidentally. I guess the rant here and your "evidently poor aim" were a good coincidence ;)
Thank you very much for the advice and the info. I agree, Friends are gold. Thank you for the reminder.
You have Got yourself a follower (or maybe a stalker :P). Hahaha :D
What issues did he bring to light?
Well! The first I heard of @berniesanders name was when he brought up the fact that @sweetsssj is selling her votes using the SP that @ned delegated to her. To me that is news I didn't know about and a call against someone "trotting the globe" (someone used this term to describe her but I don't remember who) in a fashion show, most likely using the steemit money she gained because of the delegated power.
You old users and big guys may know all about the corruption that is running around in this platform, but new users don't. They join after being promised a utopia of money, fame and fairness, only to find it is as corrupted as real life, if not more.
The fact that things are decentralized is what makes people run amok doing what they want to do to gain power and money however the methods are and no one would do anything about it.
If you say people shouldn't aim to join for money, then this platform shouldn't be advertised for money making. Which doesn't make it any better than other platforms really (maybe worse since its decentralized and has no rules or regulations). That is why people like @berniesanders, @sweetsssj, @earthnation, you and me can do whatever we want to do. Each depending on our own moral compass (depending on if we have any)
To someone who feels frustrated by all the corruption that is going on here, calling out @sweetsssj on what she has been doing is an issue brought to light. So at least we know that our failure of getting recognition for the hard work we put in here, is not because something wrong with us, but it is definitely because something is wrong with the platform.
Do I agree with @berniesanders for flagging everyone and anyone as he pleases? Not necessarily. But I can't do anything about it anyway.
Final note: I read almost all the comment threads here and I saw that you were flip flopping between defending @berniesanders and attacking him.
That was one of the reasons I dared to say
Can you be more clear about your position in regard to him please?
For one, something needs to be done about people who have hundreds of fake accounts for self-upvotes. Another would be some kind of mechanism to prevent the abuse of the flagging feature.
No platform can exist without some kind of RULES to prevent this sort of... unpleasantness. You can't just write in the dialog what flagging is for, then be okay with it when bullies and scammers simply ignore it, and use the feature to silence opinions. People with hundreds of fake profiles are abusing the system and using their scam-earned money to ensure only what THEY support and agree with has visibility. I would very much like to see this change. Wouldn't you?
Why? They have the same effect as a single upvote if all of those accounts' stake were in one account. Whether it is 1 upvote or a thousand, the effect is the same.
Abuse according to whom? What sort of mechanism?
bots created through Steemit acquire delegated stake, and therefore, when used to vote for the swarm controllers posts, scam Steem.
You know this. Clearly, you're using the Aristotelian dialog to demonstrate that @techslut already knows the answers to her questions.
While that would be effective, if condescending, if discussing something like mathematics, which you could have undeniably correct answers to, Steemit isn't mathematics, it's a social media platform, and therefore involves people, slightly more complex than algebra.
For example, your reply ignored botnets scamming the rewards pool. It also ignores that each alt used to post eventually acquires rep, which doesn't stack like SP, and constitutes a separate attack vector when such alts are used to flag, causing additional impact of such attack on rep, unlike a single account flagging.
Given your position, I find your coy questions less than substantive, particularly when you're insinuating half truths.
Not exactly the same effect. For me, as a user, a post with 100 upvotes is not a post with 1 upvote. How else can I tell if content is worth reading? The payout? Hardly. The game is rigged in favor of whoever finds a smarter way to abuse the system. That's more than obvious at this point.
I thought the idea of flagging was to prevent plagiarism, hate speech and spam from getting visibility on steemit. Sounded logical to me.
Apparently, that's not what it's for and I was silly to assume it was.
The flagging feature is a weapon for the strong to use against the weak. Like I said, you might as well change the dialog text, to avoid confusion. Some people might actually believe flagging is used to reduce the visibility of spam or hate speech, rather than bully people and silence opinions.
There is no way to prevent any user from having multiple accounts on any decentralized, permissionless system.
Check further discussion on the ARTF chat on discord first before you decide to leave.
Ranting there now.
Patience my friend. I will deal with Bernie and his sock puppets in due time (after the first if the year). Check back then.
Hahahahaha sure you will.
You’re probably it smart enough to realize that putting that much into steem would do more benefit than harm to me. Think about that one smart guy.
I’m happy to benefit you, smart guy, if I benefit Steem and protect good people in the process.
Well, you've got well over $1mm to go...let's see it.
You must not know me. Shape up, Bernie. There’s still time to save yourself.
I know you're friends with @lukestokes, which says a lot, but I hope you're truly not ignorant enough to spend any money on this piece of shit. Don't become another poor fanboy. That's my advice for you, regardless of how wealthy you claim to be.
If you really thought this was a piece of shit, you wouldn’t spend hours a day on it and you wouldn’t risk >$1mm (supposedly) holding SP.
I promise I will.