What is the optimum solution for selfvoting (on low quality contents), bidvoting, and flagwars?

Simple answer is that there is no silver bullet. Lots of evolution and trial & errors are needed. SMT can help to implement some of the proposals to fight selfvoting (on low quality contents), bidvoting, and flagwars.

Prolific blogger @kevinwong's recent post "Time To Wake Up and Fix Steem's Voting Problem" has attracted attention of the community (e.g. more than 400 comments). He mainly argued that there is no economic incentive behind active curations but self-voting or delegation to bots (i.e. another form of self-voting). Respected blogger @teamsteem argued that n^2 or superlinear reward is better while @smooth was arguing that linear is better perhaps, curving reward will not affect such behavior.

50% or more curation is one of the proposal. However, anyone can make another account and vote the other account which ends up in selfvoting.

The best answer is that algorithm cannot completely eliminate human parts of the nature such as fear, greed or jealousy. People who are intended for ROI, will always find a game around.

There is no silver bullet. I like the reply from @bryan-imhoff in another of @kevinwong's post.

Steem needs to be framed as the incredible tool that it is. A one stop setup for businesses and creators for extremely frictionless and cost effective financial transactions, marketing, social media, crowdfunding, etc. In the end we're going to need people to be here just because they want to be here... not for rewards distribution. And those people will follow the content that they want to see.

I highly recommend to read @bryan-imhoff's two full replies in this post.

However, SMT can provide another layers of solutions.

Even with SMTs an abusive whale can still post 10 times in Steemit (even if Steemit's significance becomes low at SMT's launch) and will earn STEEM handsomely.

Say, if STEEM shoots to $25, will the whale market-maker will take the advantages of buying some SMTs in loads and makes some pump and dump trades by setting up buy/sell walls with his easily earned STEEM on Steemit.

Even with community where moderators will fight abuses and spams, earning new STEEM will be in the hand of big holders. How will underlying currency STEEM work even though SMTs sees top success since STEEM, the mother currency, can be earned as same method as now.

Will not the SMTs struggle due to STEEM's distributions, chaotic governance and abuses.

As of now, SMTs will be paired to STEEM and STEEM will be distributed as well, STEEM's controversies (e.g. whale fight, reward-pool abuse, bidbots) may affect severely SMT's demand.

One of the solutions would be stopping production of STEEM through reward pool. By limiting STEEM's supply, Steemit.com, busy.org, dtube, dlive can launch their own SMT currency to reward contributors.

Each SMT can apply their own reward system. Even some may apply similar system as it is now. Some may apply single vote per person with upcoming Good Person Token (GPT) model. It will a trial & error ground, where an optimum balance will be found within the SMTs. In the meantime, STEEM's demand will rise from the SMT creators.

Moreover, STEEM is already widely distributed among the investors and contributors. Therefore, after some time (e.g. one year) if STEEM is stopped to reward authors but only PoS holders and witnesses, it demand will rise sharply due to low supply.

The inflation will be around only 2-2.5% to support new SMT businesses and activities. Then the base currency, STEEM will work as the strong backbone of the STEEM blockchain.

STEEM's price will be appreciated from the demand for starting new successful SMTs. Therefore, underlining baggage of Steemit cannot ruin SMT's success since Steemit will have it own SMT.

SMTs can live on their own world, take the routes they like with lessons from Steemit.

Some SMT may allow bidbot and flourish under bot world. Some may banish bots all together.

It will be wild, wild, west. But due to very limited supply and wide distribution of STEEM, both STEEM and SMT will be bound to succeed.

Disclaimer: This opinion is not a financial advice, it my personal perspective and opinion. Please seek professionals for financial decisions.

Image sources: Most images are open sourced (e.g. Pixabay, Wikimedia etc.) with Creative common license. Some images are used with due courtesy to respected owners.

Thanks for reading.
@riseofth
Cryptominer since 2013, occasional trader and tech blogger