If You&#x27;re Autovoting Me, Stop

fingersik (66) · 7 years ago (edited)

I understand your frustration. I don’t think that autovotes are the problem. From my humble point of view tthe bigger autovote I am receiving the more motivated I am to create a contributive content. Maybe I create shit and maybe I deserve the autovote. Maybe if the whales were autovoting, but reading the content and possibly re-evaluating their past "autovote decisions" Steem would be a better place...Maybe we will one day reach such a state.

Anyway blame the people not the tools:) Be a better example and maybe we will one day be the cause of the change...the new Steem whales that have different, morally more justifiable approach...and maybe not...

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3 votes

schattenjaeger (71) · 7 years ago

Thanks for offering a differing point of view. I'm about to head out soon, so I'll get back to you later, but I do think that autovotes also breed complacency.

However, I do appreciate that you could be right and they may have a different effect on others.

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fingersik (66) · 7 years ago

Sure take your time and if you want to discuss the matter further more Im up for it.

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lesliestarrohara (64) · 7 years ago

I agree with your take, @fingersik. I really appreciate both having autovoters who support me, and the ability to autovote others. I don't have very many autovoters, but the few I do have value my content and want to upvote it even when they are not able to read it. Once you have so many people you are following, it's nearly impossible to get to every single person's post every day, so I appreciate the ability to autovote others whose content I've found consistently valuable. If someone who I autovote starts posting crap, I'll stop autovoting, and I expect my autovoters to do the same if I all of a sudden just start smearing shit across their feeds. Knowing I have the few autovoters that I do makes it that much important for me to make sure I'm contributing high quality content to the platform. And it has the added benefit of keeping me posting even through times of low activity on the platform. I think the ability to autovote is a net benefit to Steemit.

And I think you're wrong, @schattenjaeger, that the platform is not growing or that it's only attracting bottom of the barrel usership. In my local community, I've recently met five people who had heard of Steemit and had either joined or were planning to join. It was really exciting to see Steemit catching on without me being the megaphone holder, lol. But I was able to help those people with their questions and upvote their first posts. It feels good!

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fingersik (66) · 7 years ago

Yea not much to discuss here. We obviously fully agree with each other:P

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ocrdu (71) · 7 years ago (edited)

You rock the boat, but that's OK, I was already seasick.

Is there also a way to get rid of the 95% of my followers who never look at my content, while we're at it?

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steamdan (59) · 7 years ago

I've just looked at both of your posts, are those photo taken by you? I will follow you to everywhere you take a pic, I absolutely love your work. I also get that you don't like that dark part of the network. But I'm following the two of you because of how well you're doing. I am truly grateful to have the opportunity to get paid because I really need it (the country I live in), only been here 12 days and tripled the income I was getting working far from home. But the truth is that I only got paid not just because of steemit, but from people like you who supported what I did and said. I get it that it's like mixing love and money, it just kinda gives you a bad taste. But it's one bad taste that we need to adress without getting paid less. I get what other people say about autovoting, that you earn more and helps other people. But I'm with you guys in this one. What I really like of being (starting) here is other people being supportive and taking a bit of time to think of the content they're not only creating, but sharing. You're not just earning an upvote. You're taking time to make good shit, and that is cool. You guys are. I'll try to post some good shit, but I will also put my energies in being way better than what I was before in real life, that is really the place where we should put our focus and new shit together. BTW, about the autocomments, they're like ads. I prefer those a thousand times over new youtube ones... So, cheers! I'm really happy to run into you today (I'm sorry that I'm no whale, but you guys are doing fine).

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sevinwilson (65) · 7 years ago

If they are autovoting you, will they see this?!

I do think that as more people join the platform, the worse the content will get!

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schattenjaeger (71) · 7 years ago

Hear, hear. So much emphasis is put on getting as many people as possible to join the platform, and not enough emphasis on getting high quality users to join.

I'm sure there are autovoters who won't see this, but at least I tried.

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mattclarke (68) · 7 years ago

Every policy change since Dan left has moved us away from quality posts.
Changing the 104 week power down to 13; linear rewards, 75/25 author/curators split; all delivering 'fairness' at the cost of quality.
My rewards used to range between 2c and $300 (most at the 2c end), now they range between $20 and $50.
So why not post 4 times a day and make $80 instead of laboring over one incredible post only to take a paycut?

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sevinwilson (65) · 7 years ago

Amen here. You are totally spot on about the posts and creating the quantity over quality with how the current system is designed. I think we need to focus on quality most importantly.

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schattenjaeger (71) · 7 years ago

Ah, yes. Fairness. Because, for whatever reason, Steemit needed to become a social media site catering to people who don't know how to social media.

In the name of fairness.

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ats-david (74) · 7 years ago

Yeah...I've been saying this exact thing for a long, long time. Rather than catering to actual bloggers who know how to blog and network, the community has decided to cater to those who - quite frankly - suck at creating content and never bother to put in the time and effort to network and market themselves.

The protocol changes that have been made since last spring have been awful. There's no coherence. There's no vision from the "leaders" we have here. There's no real development outside of hobbyists and marketing outside of Facebook group posting. It's a sad state of affairs and nobody wants to listen to actual criticism, whether it's constructive or not. Everything has to be sunshine and fucking rainbows - all day, every day.

Work on something that might actually have widespread appeal or otherwise be useful, and you'll get little support for it.

Create another vote-selling bot or promise to upvote "minnows," and you'll get whale approval for your witness node, delegation from STINC, and the nincompoops who can't social media will throw their money at you for upvotes, even when taking nothing but losses on the "return."

Can't fix abject stupidity, bro.

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fingersik (66) · 7 years ago

100% truth. I do believe though that there is no need for fixing the stupidity (since as you correctly said it cannot be done), it just needs to be replaced or at least challenged by whales with a long-termish vision.

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sevinwilson (65) · 7 years ago

I think if the platform is really going to become the go to social media platform there will need to be millions and millions or more of daily active users. But getting high quality users should be a major priority

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deirdyweirdy (61) · 7 years ago

Oh dear, do you think so? I was hoping the opposite. I don't ever dare to click into the 'New' tab but I find a lot of newbies through reading the comment threads on posts, and a fair few of them are posting some good content.

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sevinwilson (65) · 7 years ago

Some are posting quality content, but I also see a lot of trash getting posted by people who don't really care

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drpuffnstuff (60) · 7 years ago

This happens on other social media too. I get more memes in my facebook feed than quality thoughtful posts. Most people just share shit there..

Just have to follow the right people I guess to get the good content. I agree with most everything you said on your post though, you have the good problem as opposed to the new people that dream of the auto votes. Dont stop posting though, don't not post because you don't know if its worthy or if the auto upvoters will be made etc... Some people care what you say and bother to respond intellectually. Just focus on those kinds of people.

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deirdyweirdy (61) · 7 years ago

A thoroughly enjoyable rant articulating many of my own views. I just wish there were more like you.
I've heard all the arguments in favour of autovoting, but where's the fun in it?
I curate manually, and yes I do actually read posts. I wouldn't vote on them otherwise.

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the-curly-fox (25) · 7 years ago

i'm new to steemit.
joined a couple of days ago.
while browsing i felt immediately there is something artificial in the way people comment on posts and recomment and thank each other and blabla...
and my guess was: it has to do with the - still unknown to me - rewarding system of steemit.
it made me think of leaving again.
i stayed.
came back today and hit on "NEW".
reading your post i've learned there is the possibility of "autovotes".
don't know how it works but sounds weird.
i like the approach of yours!

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chipmusical (40) · 7 years ago

Wow you've just vented alot there and i see where you going with this. People on here they dont actually read content on here, most of the days are consumed in ways how to auto vote and stuff like that which im not much educated on. I thought this was just a post, read and like interface where u get paid for quality work, so much for thoughts.

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winstonalden (64) · 7 years ago

I actually have a hard time getting through my feed every day because there's so much good stuff to read I can't keep up with it. But I know what you mean because I see a lot of very highly-rated garbage too.

I've been so grateful for the autovotes I do receive - they might be modest by whale standards but it means a lot that people have liked my material enough to indicate they want to support me even when they might not have the time to read. I also understand it when an auto-vote goes away. I write about a lot of different subjects and maybe whatever tangent I'm on during a given week doesn't resonate with someone.

The auto-votes also keep me from posting short, throw-away stories. I know these people have invested in me and I want to live up to their expectations.

I think the bigger problem is when the autovotes go into a round-robin of multiple big accounts, often controlled by the same people, that keep boosting posts through the roof - often at 6 1/2 days when people aren't as likely to notice the circle-jerk. If these posts were really interesting and valuable, why hide the votes with a sneaky 11th hour transaction?

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andrewmarkmusic (67) · 7 years ago

I've never used any of the shenanigans on steem...So you're wrong and there is at least one other:D
But I agree with your assessment of the discrepancy between what this site could be and what it has become...

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remlaps (74) · 7 years ago

I added you to my filter so any votes you get from me or any of the accounts using my voting service will be manual votes.

I don't agree that bots are the problem, though. I think it's just the lure of "easy money". Personally, I spend a lot of effort trying to prevent my bots from voting for poor quality content, or supporting people who plagiarize, buy or sell votes.

My expectation is that getting rewarded for posting here is going to follow a difficulty curve like bitcoin mining has followed for the last near-decade, and only when the difficulty ratchets up will the rewards come into better alignment with the post quality. And unfortunately, it'll probably always be hard to find quality content - look at twitter & facebook, and those folks aren't even chasing easy money. It's good to be conservative with "follow" and liberal with "mute" I think.

I've rarely even used steemit chat, so I don't have much of an opinion on that. I didn't even know (or remember) that @riverhead ran it. When I found out this morning, I voted for him as witness. Too little, too late, I guess, though.

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suomibotti (51) · 7 years ago

Hei! Nyt kun luin tämän postauksesi, muistin lisätä sinut suomalaisten listalleni (jostain syystä se oli alkuunsa jäänyt) ja nyt olet listalla, joka saa automaattisesti ääneni. Ihan vain siksi kun olet suomalainen.

Etkä voi tehdä sille mitään.

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jodybronson (34) · 7 years ago (edited)

Yes I agree.

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bandm2016 (54) · 7 years ago

It seems to me, that you refuse the autoupvote to no purpose.
I understood all you've wrotten in your article and I'm in many respects agreeding with most of that steemiters had answered in the commentary.
After all, that negative and disagreement that you allow in relation to automatic voting can be redirected to another channel -
i.e., to transform it to usefulness of our community.
Anger and irritation leads to the dark side of the force - Master Yodo, have said ;)
Let's say you feel that your material is artificially promoted by other members of this platform and you are undeservedly getting an increase in the rating (finance or other).
So, in this case, you still not limited to supporting of good material of others authors, which in your opinion deserves attention and they are have to be more appreciated for stimulating. This is a small part, that each member of steemit can do for other underrated authors. And about automation and artistry on the platform - but it's everywhere and all around us in our life.
I think, only a few of people would have any objection to such an auto devices and mechanism (for example, car, tractor, computer or any others at your discretion). After all, these automatic mechanisms are very needed to save a person's precious time in life & which you can use to progress yourself or family, friends, relatives and any people around you.
Therefore, I would not be so skeptical to this virtual system of life, which have arosed during a short time here, on this resource, steemit. And it becomes a bit like the real value system that is presence in our actual life. In general, it is not important what kind of tool I have in my hands, but most important thing is how I will control & use this tool with my acting. (sorry for my broken english :( )

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giantbear (74) · 7 years ago

With all honestly Steemit is not what it was, in real life if you work hard you achieve something and you go forward. On steemit the harder you work the harder it gets. I auto-vote only because I know these people and I have had their support for the last two years, but I don't follow many people because I don't want my feed clogged up. I am very particular who I vote except for those specific ten people. I just think people have a misconception of what steemit is all about. It used to be more fun, and you are right, we don't see quality content everywhere, but if I had more voting power I would flag the hell out of everyone, but it is impossible because it is literally wasted power. They just jump up and open a new account...but I hear what you are saying and I think there are plenty of us that feels the same way. Maybe we should start our own community with people that started before 2017....

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jyezie (61) · 7 years ago

A lot to say about that. Having some mécènes upvoting your work is good for a lot of writers, artists. Of course, money corrupts your mind, art and you can become lazy just write mainstream or one line post. But you have to remember that some people are not here for mainly for the money. There are some fun communities here and the interaction is what makes you come back. Those communities deserve to have those automatic votes, if not they just split and leave like golos and the russian community.

The real problem is that the value of people work is, sadly, just equal to money/rewards... We have a lot of great content but no one cares about them once they are too old. WHY? Did steemians forget that the goal was to build a community and not just a get-rich-quickly scheme?

I am having fun here and that's the main reason why I come back everyday. I try to work hard to build what I think is a good platform as a writer(@jyezie) or as a witness(@cryptohazard).

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kyusho (68) · 7 years ago

I did not autovote this.

But we must all be aware that nothing it perfect, no one can design or conceive of a perfect anything. So we must adapt as such, good material is still out there, but there is also more nothings as well. I look occasionally at the "NEW" posts and rarely even read one... I depend on my feed that I built from the beginning... and some I drop as their posts become a single picture or foolish nothing.

All that said, I still feel that Steemit has better posts (intellect) than facebook... and the others. And we must all suffer the spammers "vote me, follow me" as these desperate people come from desperate lands and are used to this way of life.

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tenebrisplay (33) · 7 years ago

I didn't even know that autovotes were a thing that could happen. Why do it to earn money when you don't even feel like you're part of the community?

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anneke (69) · 7 years ago

Could not have put it better myself. Still with you

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s4heart (57) · 7 years ago

I am agree with your post, at first read the post then decide what to do.
Thank you @schattenjaeger for nice post.

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emmyem84 (56) · 7 years ago

I have to say, I appreciate your point of view...I’m new here and almost of everything I read is all sunshine and rainbows. This kind of brought me back to earth a bit. I really don’t know about automatic voting, I’ll have to research that. (As a plankton that seems like a good problem to have in the beginning lol) Hopefully since the platform is still in beta they will address some of your concerns!

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customnature (69) · 7 years ago

I enjoy posting. I've been doing it since Steem was 10¢ and I'm still doing it now. I may be biased, but I like to think I post cool stuff. If people want to autovote me, manually upvote me, or NOT upvote me, I couldn't care less. I really enjoy revisiting our travel photos and telling my stories. But if I could choose to have those posts make money or not, I'm not too proud to choose money. I think steemit is awesome. It's made me pissed off to think I've been adding all of my content to Facebook and instagram for free, in the past. Fuck them.
AUTOVOTERS, I'll gladly accept your votes formerly going to @schattenjaeger! lol

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trevor.george (67) · 7 years ago

I'm with you on the bots. I don't like them. Although I'd moderate my language in the way I'd articulate it ;-)

I write content (and now games) for people. Not for software. I have about three users (that I know of) who auto vote me. But they do so because we have been engaging with each other for a long time, reading and commenting on each other's posts and having discussions etc.

So I'm not so bothered about them.

The spam bots are just annoying (and that's the code ones and the users copying and pasting comments), but the whole world is like that, not just Steemit.

I do think that bots are one of the biggest problems on Steemit and the cause of much that is wrong with the platform. I'd be happy if they went away.

But a bunch of people are making money from them, so I think that is unlikely to happen.

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vieira (63) · 7 years ago

I have been following him for a couple of weeks, I have entered some of his previous publications and I appreciate his honesty, in those cases he has given an upvote. I think it has been successful in several points, I do not believe that value or dignity are nonsense, on the contrary it is this kind of things that forge a true person, someone of respect, someone who is "really real", unlike someone superficial that pursues the material.

I think he's also smart enough to know that the bots will not stop voting, although I think he wanted to prove something to yourself. Nevertheless, and despite everything, I think that however accurate his analysis may be, he is being too pessimistic with Steemit, without taking into account many other sides of the coin, that is, the freedom to expose any point (something very longed for in other networks), tolerance among people, opportunities for progress (even in third world countries or socialists), decentralization, and so I could continue.

I think Steemit has undoubtedly many problems right now, that we have to solve, they are really too many, but they are not problems beyond those that a platform in Beta state, with only 2 years and a couple of thousand users may have. I'm quite optimistic about Steemit's ability to progress, maybe I'm wrong, but I do not think he's seeing the whole picture away from his position.

You have decided to be yourself now, no matter what people think of you, and that's fine, that's what you should have done from the beginning, and that is a positive result, because it means that you are using the freedom you have here. Think how many people feel like you, how many people are not themselves in real life, and how many are not here. Facebook is not much more real than this, nor Twitter, in fact, in Steemit there are tools to take advantage, but this will only happen when people, like you, begin to use their freedom and leave behind the "free lunch".

You took more than a year to free yourself here, many will take less, but the vast majority will need more time to realize what they have in front.

I think many of the problems that you raised, despite being correct, will end up being solved as the years go by, as more people enter the platform, and in which people who just want to have fun, or who just they want to say something without their mouths covered, or why not, they also want to earn money, come here. This will not happen by itself obviously, it takes a lot of work, but looking from that side, Steemit has a bright future ahead.

I apologize for making such a long answer, it could certainly have been a publication, but it seemed important to me to say all that. Greetings.

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dreemsteem (68) · 7 years ago

I think you're frustrated.. and so many of us are. But I keep reading the same post, again and again. and i think it's time we stop talking about it - and come up with possible solutions.

so i'm going to. :)

and i DO read posts. and i DO read comments. and there has got to be a way to start moving towards quality, community, appreciation, connection AND rewards.

so i'm gonna try! lol and if i fail - who cares. i'll get more feedback and try again! lol

but i'm not gonna read another post about this or engage with anybody else until i actually try to DO something about it :) wish me luck! hahaha (oh - and i know i'm not even a minnow... but who cares!) LOL

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gameinformer (25) · 7 years ago

Im new to Steemit and it is marketed through the element of "greed".

But as the network progresses it will make the annoying . Ive done one post and one reply asking me to follow. Its like Instagram, follow me follow you. my suggestion to @steemit would be a relevance vote by moderators.

Your blog is awesome though, keep it up.

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