One of the main arguments against anarchism is that without a formalized state system, there is no protection for the accused against the 'justice' of the crowd. The value the state provides here is called "due process". In reality the state provides due process quite imperfectly, but it at least does a better job of it than the old fashioned lynch mob, the new fashioned Twitter mob or the brand new SteemIt mob.
@heiditravels has been accused of standing @fyrstikken up after they had arranged to do an interview and he spent a lot of time and money facilitating it. The masses of SteemIt, including a few whales have deemed Heidi guilty, awarded @fyrstikken over $1000 and brought his accusation to the forefront. Heidi is being penalized for this with her reputation. Many readers will go away believing the headline statement, especially if those who do not read the discussion thread.
There's a slight problem with this: no evidence has been presented about the nature of their arrangement if it even existed. Is SteemIt akin to a backwards country where the word of one respected member of society is enough for the public to convict? Where is the evidence? Where is the presumption of innocence? Why do we raise up and reward an accusation with such low standards?
I don't know what happened between @heiditravels and @fyrstikken, and his version of events may indeed be true. But if SteemIt is supposed to convince people that the voluntaryist, anarchist world is superior to that of a state, then this kind of bandwagon, rewarding an accusation and punishing the accused via their public reputation cannot become a pattern. We have to have high standards of evidence, presumption of innocence and protection for the accused.
I couldn't agree more. And while I have a decent rep, and everything feels peachy, you just never know when someone is going to decide to pursue a vendetta. I've seen some very nasty flagging wars here in the last 2 weeks.
I've seen some whales around Steemit Chat, who are prepared to flag trolls or bestow Upvotes on those who make a good case for being wronged, but it's hardly an ideal situation.
The popular opinion certainly isn't always the "right" opinion. Even a "well meaning" mob is still a mob. That also leads me on to Steemcleaners, who are a very polite and accountable mob, but a mob of sorts, nonetheless. Personally, Steemcleaners have my full support, considering their main target is plagiarism, something which can be empirically measured.
A more worrying mob, is the "fan mob" who will dogpile someone at the whim of their idol. Unfortunately, I fear we aint seen nothing yet, in that regard.
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I have not submitted much content to Steemit other than guest posting and commenting a bit. I am trying to find out if Steemit is a good investment of my time, or an effort that would turn into an incredibly expensive emotional roller coaster.
There is this inevitable group of social media users who equal the effort of grunting loudly with the effort to produce content. And you can see them mostly on Youtube which is the weirdest public assemblage of demonstrated sociopathy on Earth.
Eventually, all platforms that have one-click interactions (like, upvote, downvote, etc.) turn into wars about the use of these self-moderation methods. The downside of a platform like Steemit, which has a monetary reward for attention is that it also causes maniacal jealousy over financial success.
I have been racking my brain for years to figure out a medium that naturally attracts mature contribution and also detracts harassment (Wouldn't you know it Medium.com is not so bad and Pinterest has avoided becoming a sewage system too!) I am glad Steemit exists so I can see it evolve. But, as someone who started managing social media communities in 1991, I am pretty much over this current wave of dramatic myth making for attention.
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I voted on the post because I am human and the drama is high Entertainment to me.
Years ago that is something I would never admit to.
I,
am enlightened.
I am Jack's slagged reputation
and I believe in Nothing.
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I enjoy some fun drama once in a while too! I can't wait for the upcoming whale battle sure to happen over differing opinions on what to do with all of their voting power.
They can't survive with that power, because it is killing the end-user
They can't stand to give up the power.
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There are so many ways that SteemIt is just a micro reflection of our society.
Lynch mobs,
1% holding the power
Free speech being squashed by fear of economic loss.
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