RE: Hey Steemit. Let's Talk About Flagging. Again.
Let me start by saying I don't expect anyone to care about my personal story or my stake in this platform. I am sure this is ground that has been tread and retread for months now. That said, I have no idea who to even ask questions regarding this issue, so here we are.
I must admit I am a bit confused by everything that is going on with this platform. I have gone back and forth with Steemit the entire time.. I bought in at the top when it first got listed, because, as a writer, the idea of writing for and with the crypto community got me excited in a way that crypto alone had yet to do.
I have never been a blogger, and do not have a lot of experience with it, but when the platform seemed to go in that direction, I tried a post or two, realized I didn't enjoy it, and took a break. No one read them anyway, so it didn't much matter.
I have come back a couple of times to see how things are going, and each time I saw things that both excited and concerned me.
A month or so ago I posted excerpts from a story I had published through a magazine, with a link to the original story. Flagged, downvoted, whatever it was, it went gray and did not get seen.
Believing this must be because the story was published elsewhere, I figured I had broken a rule and I let it go.
Yesterday I tried again, typing up a story I had written but not published. It was immediately flagged and grayed out.
Tried a test post. Immediate gray, even though on steemd.com I couldn't find where it was downvoted or flagged.
I have never received more than a couple of dollars for any post I have made, so please do not think this is me whining about payouts. What does concern me, however, is that I am spending time working on stuff that doesn't even have a chance to be seen due to being auto-flagged.
Most legitimate publishers will not accept stories that have been "published on a blog," so I would be better off just setting the stories on fire than to post them into a "gray hole" where they never see the light of day.
Again, this is more about confusion than complaint.
Do I make another account and hope it doesn't get auto-flagged? Hope that I don't stumble into another subset of whatever social media war is going on around here? Do I keep posting into the "gray hole" because I believe in the platform?
Someone please help me understand what is going on.
Unfortunately you were the target of a "Bad Whale" who has a lot of Steem Power and uses it to flag people for irrational reasons. He appears to thrive on drama and there have been many people who have left this platform because of his actions. The technology doesn't currently have a mechanism for dealing with this problem, which is why I wrote this post to raise awareness about it. Your story is a good example of how things can go badly for people here and why it seems so unfair/irrational.
For those not following along, here's what seems to have happened:
@dirty.hera was apparently following my votes via Streemian. I flagged some of berniesanders abusive comments where he was calling other Steemians names. He retaliated by flagging every post of @dirty.hera.
@dirty.hera: I'm glad you responded by asking questions. Many aren't willing to do that and just leave instead. I hope you do very well here.
Thanks for responding, @lukestokes.
I really don't want to stick my neck out any further here.. all I wanted to do was post some stories and see if it went well.
Is whatever happened yesterday the reason that my posts are now showing up gray even without being flagged or downvoted? On #fiction under hot or trending my story is the only one grayed out, even though one other story had a flag. Is my reputation all messed up now?
@noganoo said it is part of a new update.
No, your posts are not grayed out as far as I can tell. Maybe try refreshing your browser? And no, your reputation isn't all messed up. Please ignore the bullies here. Don't let them define your experience. There are a lot of great, interesting people in this wonderful community. If some people flag you, that's on them. Just move on and treat everything as a gift.
Thanks, man. I appreciate you taking the time to help.
I think there is a lot of potential here for this community, and I look forward to seeing how it develops.
I'm really glad to hear that. So many others have one bad experience and leave. I do hope the rest of your experience is positive. One of the best ways to get more engagement and followers is to be helpful and comment on other's posts.
Well if I don't feel like a complete dumbass.
When I click on a post it turns gray to show that I have already seen it.
Holy derp I feel stupid.
Still, glad to clear up the flagging issue.
I will post a new story today in honor of this giant snafu.
Ah, that explains it. Thanks for clarifying.