STEEM Community: The Solution To All STEEM Problems

in #steem6 years ago (edited)

STEEM does not need an overlord. We do not need a person in charge telling everyone what they can or cannot do. Events recently are showing the STEEM community is perfectly capable of handling its own issues.

We have some really intelligent people around here. This is resulting in some fabulous developments which will only serve to make the ecosystem stronger.

There are a host of problems on the STEEM blockchain that people refer to on a regular basis. Occasionally, we see someone take the initiative to do something about it. Hence, we often get a solution.

We are in a technological age. These days, algorithms are the answer to a lot of what is taking place. This is often the case when combating an issue that is algorithmic in nature.

This morning, I noticed a couple of examples of this. They show how the community responds.

The first deals with downvotes. Have you noticed some of your posts getting downvoteed for no reason. All these votes are coming from smaller accounts but you get hit with a number of them. What did you do wrong? The answer is nothing.

People are aware of this. It apparently was a disgruntled Steemian who decided to create a series of flagging bots. Some of the recipients are targets as payback; others simply at random.

Here is a post about it.

https://steemit.com/flag/@guiltyparties/the-flag-ring

Ignore his flags and if they hide or damage your post, ask your friends or the Freezepeach team for help at https://discord.gg/3DpG2CF

If you see a fellow Steemian whose posts have been negatively impacted, give them an upvote.

A community based solution. Word is spreading about this among communities members and we can come together to help offset this activity.

At the same time, the witnesses and Steemit are getting into the act.

Ourselves (@guiltyparties) and @themarkymark are updating and compiling the list. This is a contribution for the betterment of the ecosystem.

Steemit Inc and its developers know about it, already removed part of the delegation, and will remove the rest of it. The flagger can try all he wants to make these faucet abuse accounts but they will all lose their delegation, making them useless.

It's not an instant button we can flip to remove delegation but it is happening in the normal workflow of things and everyone is aware and acting on it.

Once again, we see actions taken by those who have the ability to change it. Steemit is involved since they are the ones who issue the delegation. Hence, removing that SP will reduce the voting power and kill the bandwidth of these accounts.

Another instance was a phishing story. These are becoming quite common on STEEM. As more people join, this will only continue. Directing Steemians to a non-STEEM account and coaxing one to turn over passwords is becoming a pastime for many. This is why it crucial that one be very careful with his or her keys. Nevertheless, one advantage to STEEM is that there is an account recovery system and all is not lost if keys are taken.

In this instance, one followed a link posted in a comment warning about a post being stolen by another. Plagiarism is something that every blogger is mindful of and a comment alerting one of this happening will garner attention. It also could result in one getting scammed.

Following the link, to a non-steemit site, the individuals provided the active key to the account. This led to funds being taken while posts were put up to try and lure others into the scam. After a while, the account was used to downvote others in an effort to destroy the reputation.

https://steemit.com/photofeed/@irvinesimages/peaceful-essence

It would be remiss for me not to mention @arcange at this time. This one account has almost single-handledly gone after the phishing accounts. Each time one pops up, that account is quick to post that the offending account is a scam/phishing site.

STEEM is one of the more advanced blockchains in terms of community. We are all engaging upon a lesson in anarchy. There are no regulators or Steemit police. Self ruling, monitoring, and regulating is what we are establishing. It is up to the community to not only decide what to do, but also to do it. This can be a collaborative effort or, as in the case of @arcange, individual.

As I noted, we have a lot of talented people on this blockchain. The next few years will see in explosion in technology which people will use for nefarious things. It is comforting to know that same technology can be used to prevent their actions also.

Obviously, an algorithm that is creating a problem can often be countered by another algorithm. There are other issues on the STEEM blockchain that are still subjects of debate. The solutions to these are not necessarily a piece of code. Instead, we are forced to look at cultural issues and our beliefs as they pertain to the STEEM blockchain. Some of these will take a while to figure out since self governance of ecosystems like these is still being worked out.

STEEM is a very young toddler. We just entered our terrible twos. We barely mastered walking at this point. A lot of this is being figured out as we proceed along. A major paradigm shift tends to take awhile to fully work itself out. Consider the fact that humanity was controlled for thousands of years. Suddenly, having a system of freedom means there is going to be a time period of acclamation. None of us are truly accustomed to operating like this. Even our digital lives were tightly controlled by the like of Daddy Google and Uncle Facebook. And we need not forget Cousin Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft.

To every STEEM problem, the answer is always the same. What is the solution? We are. The STEEM community is responsible for directing where things go.

We are going to see many more examples like these over the coming years. As situations arise, the community will decide how to handle it and take action. This will apply to those in both technical in nature and cultural.

The future of this blockchain is in our hands. This is true for both the success and failure of it. A strong community means that destruction can only come from the inside.

We all need to put forth effort to ensure that does not happen.

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"STEEM is a very young toddler. We just entered our terrible twos."

I adore that comparison. In fact, it makes every little hiccup here seem adorable when you think about it.

For example, feeble flagging bots, when you think about them as a toddler having a tantrum, suddenly seem sort of loveable lol!

"These days, algorithms are the answer to a lot of what is taking place."

I like how algorithms can be the solution to problems here. The solution to every bad bot with an an algorithm is a good bot with an algorithm.

Is there an algorithm to counter the effects of sticky toffee pudding on the wasteline?

I love the way you think. You and @edicted have a lot of foresight in this space. :)

Is there an algorithm to counter the effects of sticky toffee pudding on the wasteline?

Yes that algorithm is called @actifit.

Download it and use it. LOL

I agree - the flagging bots are a problem, but thank you for pointing out the good solution for this. Steemit has a bright future and has a working product. I am exited for the next steps.

Jolly super that there are intelligent people on here are stepping up to right the wrongs, and to make Steemit a more enjoyable experience. Cheers!

To listen to the audio version of this article click on the play image.

Brought to you by @tts. If you find it useful please consider upvoting this reply.

Ever the voice of optimism, and for good reason. You clarified a few things I happened to be wondering about.

I have been getting some of these plankton down votes on both of my accounts and wondered what was up about that. Luckily, they are just that, plankton. Its kind of hard to see the point of that, but oh well. Some people's kids...

I find it interesting that as I become more bullish about Steem and Steemit, I see so many that are getting rather salty. That will happen, I suppose. This is definitely a bumpy ride, but what do people expect from a ground breaking ride?

Sorry I'm not voting today. It's Steem Power rest day for this account, but I see my other account showed up, lol.

I find it interesting that as I become more bullish about Steem and Steemit, I see so many that are getting rather salty.

I think this is tied to pricing action. It seems the lower the price heads, the more "salty" people get. I guess this is logical for those who depend upon STEEM to live but for long term hodlers, not sure why that is. The pricing ebb and flow is natural and will continue to happen. At some point things will go up....I dont know when but the price of STEEM will take off at some point.

The development on here is simply to great for it not to.

That makes sense. I take the drop as an opportunity. Buy in and double down on my activity while I can is my philosophy.

That's nice to hear that Steemit is removing the delegations from the flagging accounts. I had a friend who got hit with them as was confused as to why it was happening. We mainly hear about non-action from Steemit, so it's encouraging to hear they're actually responding. It's likewise great to hear that Steemians are coming together as a community to help each other recover when they get flagged by those accounts. Hopefully we'll leave this chapter better than we were before.

Some of my posts have also been downvoted by some accounts, which made me wonder what I have done wrong. Thanks for making it clear and good to know that it is being managed. Fortunate we are as we have a community that takes stringent actions against all these acts of exploitations.

Great saying from your post:

"Consider the fact that humanity was controlled for thousands of years. Suddenly, having a system of freedom means there is going to be a time period of acclamation. None of us are truly accustomed to operating like this. Even our digital lives were tightly controlled by the like of Daddy Google and Uncle Facebook. And we need not forget Cousin Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft.". by @taskmaster4450

I will never forget that. Really, there is so much true on it.
my vote to you. (still humble, but human : )

  • resteemed

b.b.

There are also other examples of flag-abuse... Look for this case here, @retiredinsamar is constantly being flagged by anything he posts, just because someone chose to hate him. I read some few posts from this @retiredinsamar ( here is a link to his account ) , and saw no abuse from his part. Please, take a look at his case. The flagger is always the same, always followed by the other five (same) flaggers. (Maybe, another case of multiple flag accounts, from the same owner. But this time, filled with SP that cannot be un-delegated.) This specific case of soft-censorship worries me a lot. I believe this is being a downward move, delaying the fulfillment of the great potentials living in this community. As you well said, we need to identify the problems, discuss them - open-minded - and try to find the best solutions, and look for ways to implement.

b.b.

To see people running bots just for downvoting is a bit beyond the pale. To see people working to discourage the downvoting bots is encouraging.

Thanks for bringing this good news to light. I really needed to read that.

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