I woke up from a dream this morning which has left me in an ill humor.
In my dream I was trying to put together a post for Steem. It was a semi-nightmare. I was revising and revising and revising for fear of incurring a massive downvote from a whale.
This dream was inspired by exactly that having happened to an excellent post I read yesterday by a friend of mine here. His post was, like everything this particular Steemian posts, brilliant. It had everything one could want in a high-quality post. It expressed an opinion that some might find mildly offensive, but it was only that, an opinion. His post got a 100% downvote from a whale, which nearly wiped out its entire earnings. I went to the whale's blog and saw that his far less well-researched, labored over, and quality posts were making nearly 200 STU!
I dream about making 20 STU!
Oh right, back to my dream. So I was trying to write about, uh, uh... Drat! I can't remember! It was a really good idea too!
So now I am having nightmares about retribution. I've described Steem in the past as a kinder place, but that downvote was an act of cruelty. There was no explanation given in the comments. Is this really what we want?
This is my entry to @mariannewest's daily freewrite challenge
https://steempeak.com/freewrite/@mariannewest/day-705-5-minute-freewrite-wednesday-prompt-ill-humor
As usual, I set the timer for 4:30, wrote until it went off, then went back to proofread but not edit.
The image is mine of a sculpture I liked a lot, but I can't remember the sculptor's name at the moment. I'll get back to you on that.
I haven't downvoted any posts yet, but if I do, it will be due to finding a really rotten, worthless post, posted by a conniving, scammer-type person.
I think that downvoting an acceptably written and sourced post because I don't like the poster personally, or because I disagree with the subject or their opinion, is childish and destructive and should never be done.
If the most influential steemians get into the habit of downvoting acceptably good posts simply because they don't like the author, or because they disagree with the author's opinion, that behavior will kill steemit quicker than any other scenario that I can imagine.
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I have never downvoted either. I am on this platform for two years now. One time I was informed someone had plagiarized my content: we have the cheetah bot for that. Another time someone translated my post from English to Spanish, without referencing my work. Then I just reported them to minnowcleaners.
There are ways that help keep Steemit a place free from plagiarizers and scammers. But people are often-governed by the law-of-least effort. And that is what downvoting does. It allows people to punish others without the "punisher" having to put much effort into it. Even worse, it comes at no cost to the person who downvotes. It is a recipe for disaster, really. I am not against the downvote option. However, the way that it can be done now (with no cost to who does it) only gives room for petty vengeance to take place in the platform.
And just as you pointed out, if the influential Steemians not only get into that habit but "recruit" people to do the same, as I have seen happening, well ... than we don't have long left. This is just my opinion of course. Having said all that, I have noticed a positive change post HF21/22. Despite everything.
Sorry @free-reign, this ended up too long-winded, but I really liked your comment!
Best,
Abigail
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I agree wholeheartedly with your way of taking care of plagiarists and scammers, mostly because that will result in something being done about it, while a downvote for these types isn't going to do much to deter them from exploiting the "law of least effort."
I write long comments sometimes too, lol. Nothing wrong with that IMO. Nice to meet you Abigail, and the best to you!
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I think we cultivated too much emotion around here. Well, it's good when it's good emotion. But if I could turn it off when frustrated, I know I would feel better.
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Unplug! It really helps me to just step away from it all for at least a few hours.
But I need to say that I am happy with how many people actually read my posts now. Thanks for being one of them!
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Oftentimes, wealth is the byproduct of brilliance, not vice-versa.
Enjoyed your post.
Namaste, JaiChai
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Definitely not vice versa, but wealth is not always a by product of brilliance, and we are certainly seeing that here on steem. Great stuff often earns nothing at all.
Thanks so much for your comment and attention.
peace
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I think that the downvoting will eventually subside but it is a little scary having to walk on eggshells to not offend some childish whale. I can’t imagine anyone would ever down vote you. The thing is not to get caught between a whale war. The. You should be fine! 😁 don’t give up!
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Sometimes it feels like our words are in chain. Our voice get mute. But we need to move on!
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https://steemit.com/freewrite/@mariannewest/day-705-5-minute-freewrite-thursday-prompt-footprint
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No, we don't. Supposedly, the downvotes are there to keep porn and such off the platform. But I never felt comfortable with that power and thought the idea of a free downvote to be a very bad one indeed. Like everywhere else, money speaks.
I have been very busy lately keeping me off Steem for the most part - at least compared to the time I used to spend here, it is nothing. But I have to be honest, the recent changes are not making it very enticing for me to be back more...
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Oh that is so upsetting! You have been an enormous support to me and many others. That you of all people are pulling away is indicative of the damage the recent fork has done - we do not have the heart to find yet another new way to support each other. This fork has been demoralizing for the smaller accounts and those that support them. But what can we do? I dare not talk about it much because I fear some Big, most of whom ignore me when I am producing great content (I think it's great anyway), will finally see me if I complain even a tiny bit and wipe out my earnings with a downvote that takes absolutely nothing away from them. As far as I can tell, the downvotes don't even follow any curve!
But I for one am glad you are back, and I hope we can find some way to overcome.
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I hope so too. This platform has been holding a lot of promise but I have seen great people leave to other platforms that make them way more money and they have fun there too. Oh well, I surely invested a lot of time and energy in this one and the people I have met here are great. But still, there is the time factor...
And I don't post on other social media sites for the heck of it and could then justify my time here as an instead.
You have a busy life as well and know that you want to spend your time as focused as possible...
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This place is corrupt to the core. When people who have never run a business before or led a team, who have not taken responsibility for other people, who have experienced real consequences in the world, and these people suddenly get power, it is often a game that looks exactly like it is played here. When an immature personality suddenly gets an extremely high influx and thinks that this influx would be even rudimentary authentic, it feels strengthened in its narcissistic part. The many hurrah's and confirmations are then the drug you need again and again.
Those who misuse their whale existence to be everything in one person like to create an army of yes-men, flatterers and hypocrites. But since every person has different and smarter parts that see through this game, it depends on how these parts react. Nobody is so stupid as to take the many yes-men really seriously, because it is not difficult to recognize the intention behind it. That's why such a personality part, who has the power, thinks very badly about his fans, because the intelligent part sees through the whole thing. But often the part that is addicted to attention is the stronger one and doesn't listen to the authority that is inherent in every human being. The pleasure of having outsmarted the masses then dominates to drown out the part that finds itself inferior.
It is useless to appeal to such powerful, exploitative actors, since they love this form of attention on the one hand and have not given any mandate for anyone to criticize them or give them feedback on the other. As long as someone doesn't ask for feedback on their own, they will consider it a personal attack to question their actions and statements. But that doesn't have to stop you from being critical and making such things a subject of discussion. Basically, however, it takes great courage to face someone openly because too many fear being drawn into the maelstrom of disapproval or unpopularity. One then often stands alone. Moreover, the constructive can hardly be distinguished from the destructive and is a confusing mixture of approval and rejection, of contradictory views and impressions.
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I'd give you my 100% upvote for your comment but it has been rendered worthless by the brilliant upvote curve.
I came to steem because it was, or so I thought, designed to be self-regulating. The idea was that a bad actor would not make money here. That turned out to be untrue, so the witnesses (I loathe that double speak term) have been instituting increasingly arcane mechanisms to MODIFY OUR BEHAVIOR. I object to this most of all. Who do they think they are?!
I arrived here after HF20 so I don't know what it was like before then. I do know that HF21 has slowed my earnings from a very slow flow to a trickle. I am not here for the money, thankfully I don't need it, but I would like to be able to give some away now and then. The upvote curve has rendered my funds worthless. Unless a post makes in excess of 50 stu, I do not give full value. If a great post is making less than .01, which are the posts I was happily upvoting before the curve, my 100% upvote if worth 1/4 what it is worth on a high paying post. Same for upvoting comments on my posts. This has crippled my ability to draw new readers to my blog - I can't even give them a single steem penny in appreciation. HF 21 killed the little guys and anyone who wants to show support to them via upvote.
Looking over my posts since the fork, those that mention my unhappiness with HF21/22 in even the most mild terms earn far less than those that do not. More behavior modification. Of course I will be inclined to bite my tongue and not criticize my masters so that the bone they throw to me is one of the bigger ones.
We on the lower end are nothing more than Pavlov's dogs to these guys, expendable. They may think they are doing good in the world, and perhaps they are, but once again, they have set it up so that one has to have money to make money. Unequal. Elite class. I could go on and on, about how they've created a kind of ghetto where money doesn't go as far as it does on the outside, and it is very difficult to get out of the ghetto unless you have a fair amount of cash to buy influence. About the rah rah go join a community to support you - it will give you a whole bunch of worthless tokens so it's OK. About Steem is now a mirror of the world outside of it and regular folks MIGHT be able to make their way if they spend hours and hours of every day plugging away at it, devoted to a platform that does not value Littles in any meaningful way. About how only an elite class stands any chance here: moneyed, tech savvy, gamblers. Not good.
Any of the Littles who are here for the income have to scrabble for crumbs and hope some whale takes pity on them in the form of charity, or far worse, a loan. Just like the outside. The witnesses' brilliant ideas have recreated the world outside of steem. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised because, as you say, it's all human nature, the seven deadly sins and all that.
That all said, since I'm not here for the money, I carry on. Thanks for your considered response.
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If you like to give me an upvote, just press the button no matter if I receive anything from it. :D ... but never mind, I don't focus on upvotes that much if I can engage in comments, too.
... I don't know. ... this distribution debate is distracting too much and I like to get away from it.
Yes, HaHa, I remember when I started fresh here I was blissfully ignorant and sometimes I think it's better not to do the maths and not using the tracking tools but do what you love and are good at. Engagement one can seek through visiting other peoples blogs and commenting there. .... But I think, there is a phenomena when new things like a so far unoccupied space offers itself, it attracts all kinds of minds, exploring ones as well as criminal ones. Bitcoin has a bad image for money laundering, is what I was told.
In a way we are always regulated from the outside ... it can't be avoided but I think one does not have to follow recommendations when they don't seem coherent to oneself. I never give downvotes, for example. I just can't. It's good actually, that people are different in behavior and notions. This variety is what makes a rich sphere.
For the loss in upvoting etc. for small accounts. I guess that was the purpose. To discourage what is called trash or spam or what ever. .... I don't know... sometimes I think it's better to have a doubt but not despair or rage.
You catch me in a mellow mood. The day I answered you it was different.
Greetings to you.
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Can you link to the wonderful post that got downvoted? Might send it some love, at least would like to read it.
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Pay out is in 6 hours! I was afraid to provide the link, thinking if I got slammed for writing this, I didn't want him to go down with me. @hlezama wrote this for @adsactly. He was very upset about the downvote. They've tried to get an explanation, but the downvote remains a week later.
https://steempeak.com/education/@adsactly/adsactly-education-dealing-with-accents-in-language-teaching-and-learning
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Thank you for looking out for Henrry. We didn’t get much response from the whale but we did give some of Henrrys personal posts some extr love to make up for it x
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Yes, very strange. Maybe a whale fight between smooth and adsactly? @themarkymark seems like a reasonable fellow who might know more. Regardless, the minnow caught in the crosshairs deserves and got some love from me on his personal blog.
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Thank you! Henrry does some great work and I was very upset to see that downvote.
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Howdy owasco! It's so interesting that the leaders talk about Steemit as being a free and open forum with no censorship and yet there is incredible censorship going on if you have a Christian or conservative blog.
They thrive on intimidation too. I don't know how much it is hurting the platform but it's the main reason so many left for Weku.
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I sometimes open the posts that have been censored. While some of them are NSFW, many of them are just fine. I'm so sad to hear conservatives are being squelched even here. I'll have to look into weku, never heard of it.
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Howdy today owasco! Yes, thousands of people left steemit and went to weku after hardfork 20 I think it was, I lose track. lol. It's an exact clone of steemit except they don't have downvoting, flag wars and censorship like steemit does.
In other words, it's steemit without all the negative stuff and everyone loves it there, no hate mongers and fights. I'm thinking about going because you can post in both places but weku helps people coming from steemit by fast-tracking their repscore to match their steemit reps.
They haven't gone public yet with their coin but the earnings are amazing. A typical post by a friend on steemit who keeps trying to convince me to come over to weku will be around 50 cents here but over there it's $50. He says it's actually about 1/10th of that but still that's ten times the earnings of steemit.
I think you have to have an invitation link to access it an check it out, I'll ask about that and get back to you in case you want to do that sometime.
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Yes thank you I would very much appreciate that. Especially if we can cross post. I've made friends here I do not want to lose, even if their upvotes are now virtually value-free is they slap one on any of my posts.
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Howdy tonight owasco! I know what you mean. Well a person used to have an invitation link but now it's just open to everyone at weku.io and I think everyone cross posts.
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I made an account, thank you. It's trending stuff is much more interesting to me than Steem's trending stuff so that's good. At this point, I will feel my way through it for a bit. Thanks for the info.
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That's great, let me know how you like it over there!
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