I started work a few hours ago on my Node.js anti @asshole script and got it to the point it 'should' have been able to pick up his flags.. However it didn't seem to be working! Much to my dismay I went looking for the errors in my script but didn't find any that stuck out to me. So I went and checked @asshole's blog and was greeted with this awesome sight below:

As of about 2-3 hours from the time of this post the account seems to have stopped flagging everything and changed their profile name and picture to something much nicer.

Turns Out @asshole was a Psy Op.. Knew it!

For those unaware of what a psy op is it stands for "psychological operation" or in layman's terms mental warfare, also maybe referred to as social engineering. The person behind the @asshole account seemed to know that by creating a potential problem he'd have a good chance that the system would be changed to reflect something more to their liking. With the recent changes to the flagging system on the Steemit.com GUI seems their mission was completed and they will power down now.

The Danger of Psy Ops Against the STEEM Network

As with all system that are run by humans a very real threat exists that people wishing to create change in said system may manipulate those running it with certain actions.

Going forward we must remember that these types of threats do exists and be keen on questioning motives when things start happening like they did with the @asshole account.

Psy ops or social engineering attacks can be very powerful and dangerous when used.

What About Your Anti-Asshat Script?

I'll still be developing it and open sourcing it once completed. While I hope this is the last flag attack on the STEEM network I cannot help but feel it may not be. We must distribute counter measures to those interested in defending the network from future flag attacks.

Adjusted Steem Dollar APR % to 3.50%

SBD has been trading a bit higher than $1.00 USD worth of Bitcoin so to compensate I've moved my witness APR rate to 3.50%. I am not sure if this will be enough but time will see. @smooth tipped me off in the witness chat about needed changes.

he Loch-Ness Monsta would be proud.

Special Mentions

Big shout out to @anyx, @timcliff and @pfunk for their efforts in deploying their upvote script against @asshole! Well done gentlemen. You are all assets to our community!

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Vote @klye for Witness!

https://steemit.com/~witnesses

A Proud STEEMbassador of Canada

Thank you for your votes, the opportunity and support!