There have been a lot of posts about the use of flags recently. Many users feel that flags should only be used to counter abuse, while others see it as a valid means to affect the distribution of rewards in ways that they deem more favorable.
The fact that "flags" and "downvotes" are combined into one function has been a large contributor to the problem. Many have called for a separation between the two, and I am in strong agreement. IMO, there should be separate 'flag' and 'downvote' functions built into the platform.
A new issue was opened in GitHub tonight by one of the Steemit developers (1222) to change the "flag" icon back to "downvote". In addition, they mentioned plans for a non-consensus 'flagging' feature to be added once they implement communities. This is a big step in the right direction!
Here are the notes from the GitHub issue:
This post is just a report on activity found in GitHub. There is no guarantee that this change will be implemented and put up onto the live site. Since it was opened by one of the devs in the Steemit dev team though, I do think it is likely to be implemented.
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I think separating the two functions is a good idea because the current situation confuses people.
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Agreed too. Not that people will not be confused after the separation if it happens.:-)
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
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Agreed.
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Thank you very much Mr. @timcliff, for keeping us informed. Congratulations for the great work you do on the platform
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Welcome :) Thanks @jlufer :)
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
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I fully support this change. That's actually the way I use the flag right now. Anything I dislike I will downvote, and no matter what the 'flag' says when I click on it, I can click it whenever I want.
I also believe the downvote should be part of the curation algorithm. Users who downvote should have more power on their upvotes. A typical user should have about a 80% upvote/downvote ratio as is the case on reddit (a finely tuned website that regularly pushes good content to the front page).
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
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support... the word 'flag' is somehow discouraging people from using their downvotes.
switch back to the more neutral 'downvote' wording could drive the community back to a more healthy up/down ratio.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
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I am really hoping that this will be accepted. IMHO there are huge differences between a down vote and a flag. I'm glad that there is a github issue for it.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
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Thanks for the report and a positive spin on the issue or at least neutral. Following
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
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