RE: Steemit - Anti-Bullying Self-Defense
I am glad that you broached this topic. Personally, I don't even down-vote people who have written something I disagree with, or who have attacked me in their comments. Responding is enough.
I personally believe that flags should all be subject to review by a panel of other people before they can go into effect. YouTube, for all that it said about it, is correct in how it handles this. It should be a request for flagging, reviewed by others to see if it is justified, and then a flag if it is.
I personally have had some strong concerns about how free people are to use both the down-vote and the flag on Steemit. One scenario that you did not mention was gang-bullying, where people with a certain perspective shut down an opposing view. Also, if a person has followers, those followers are likely to support a similar perspective, and, when appealed to, will probably support the person they are following, if the cause for unjust flagging was based on a position expressed in the post.
Otherwise, good work. Thanks for taking this on.
Thank you kindly, @ajdohmen, both for your upvote as well as your feedback. :c)
I have to admit that this is not the final word on counter-bullying measures. I was contemplating posting a suggestion today but it'll have to wait until tomorrow (as I got caught up in an alternative, more philosophical post being written up right now).
While mention of gang-bullying was certainly made under the 'sadistic bully' category, you are correct in saying that defense against multiple bullies is going to be a trickier endeavor. Of course... 5 large bullies suffering 5 streams of lost followers is still going to leave a very sour taste in their mouths.
One thing that I'll need to respectfully disagree on is the notion that a user's followers are likely to sympathize with that user being a jerk. Yes, some will agree with his disagreement of his views - and some among these might let that cloud their judgment. Others will see more clearly.
After all, a lot of those followers do so for the content that a user posts, not for that user's abusive behavior in comments and abusive flags.
Thank you again for sharing your thoughts on this matter. I really wasn't expecting such a strong response. :c)
Peer pressure can be very powerful..