Are you already satisfied (or bored) with the Steemit Debate?

I think that, because of limited time answers, the speakers were unable to explain themselves and to fully reply to all questions.

Before starting, please take note that if I use the word Ponzi it's not to defame or accuse anyone, but just because it was one of the main topic discussed in the Debate

(so please don't get upset or offended and don't jump to conclusions too fast)

image from sitepoint.com

But before I get into the core of my post, I will start with the defense of the two speakers

in defense of @blakemiles84

• It is always harder to be PRO some resolution and play the constructive role in a discussion (and it was the Blake position in the debate)
• after I was quite critic and doubtful towards his speech in this post he managed to give me his personal feedback , still remaining cool and friendly and showing genuine interest towards my statements

in defense of Tone Vays

• he was accused of being closed-minded and conservative and to bring the Ponzi accusation without really understanding the Steemit system (but he did bring some real arguments to state what he said, even if there was not enough time to really reply to them)
• he was condemned for saying "I don't think there's that many smart people in crypto" but I think that this statement is not enough to think that any other argument he brought was false

The SEC document about Ponzi scheme definition

Tone showed a web page about the 7 warning signs to identify a Ponzi scheme.
I asked him (after the debate) to give me the link to this document, which is by the Security Exchange Commission and you can find here

Let's check the warning signs one by one:

Warning sign # 1 - High investment returns with little or no risk

High investment returns with little or no risk. Every investment carries some degree of risk, and investments yielding higher returns typically involve more risk. Be highly suspicious of any "guaranteed" investment opportunity.

This is the only one which had a reply by Blake: he said that it was not the Steemit situation because spending time and effort to write good content may be a risk too (I agree on that).

But if you go to the Steemit home page, with Trending Posts displayed (and thousands dollars earning for each of them), you may have the perception that you can earn easy money with little or no effort

Fortunately, no "guaranteed" investment promise on Steemit.

Warning sign # 2 - Overly consistent returns

Overly consistent returns. Investment values tend to go up and down over time, especially those offering potentially high returns. Be suspect of an investment that continues to generate regular, positive returns regardless of overall market conditions.

I don't know about this one, just decide by yourself if it may apply to Steemit platform (we have three different tokens so it's not easy to have a clear idea for me).

Warning sign # 3 - Unregistered investments

Unregistered investments. Ponzi schemes typically involve investments that have not been registered with the SEC or with state regulators. Registration is important because it provides investors with access to key information about the company's management, products, services, and finances.

Just because I don't believe in State regulations, I will ignore this point and carry on (but you can investigate if Steemit registered somewhere, I'm not concerned with it anyway)

Warning sign # 4 - Unlicensed sellers

Unlicensed sellers. Federal and state securities laws require investment professionals and their firms to be licensed or registered. Most Ponzi schemes involve unlicensed individuals or unregistered firms.

To me it's similar to # 3 so no further comment about that, but if you think it may be important, investigate by yourself.

Warning sign # 5 - Secretive and/or complex strategies

Secretive and/or complex strategies. Avoiding investments you do not understand, or for which you cannot get complete information, is a good rule of thumb.

This one is interesting to me. The Steemit strategy is quite complex (even if not secretive) also for the minority of users who managed to read the full Whitepaper, and even more complex for those who didn't!

Warning sign # 6 - Issues with paperwork

Issues with paperwork. Do not accept excuses regarding why you cannot review information about an investment in writing. Also, account statement errors and inconsistencies may be signs that funds are not being invested as promised.

This can be quite controversial. Paperwork may be intended also as digital documents (we are in 2016) but you can decide by yourself.

Warning sign # 7 - Difficulty receiving payments

Difficulty receiving payments. Be suspicious if you do not receive a payment or have difficulty cashing out your investment. Keep in mind that Ponzi scheme promoters routinely encourage participants to "roll over" investments and sometimes promise returns offering even higher returns on the amount rolled over.

This may be a crucial point, because of the 2 years delay to receive full amount of STEEM Power.
In this case, if a Ponzi scheme existed, will be so only for people who put some real money into the STEEM Power token.

did you say Fonzi? image credit here

My final conclusions

• I didn't see any comment or post analyzing those 7 signs, before replying to Tone criticism

• Sometimes being too enthusiastic and excited about new technologies can bring to a wrong conclusions and superficial certainties

• I read many comments and posts about Steemit being not a Ponzi but none of them referred to a Ponzi definition to decide if it was Ponzi or not - for example read this post (an excellent post indeed, which clarified to me many things)

• there's quite a big confusion between Ponzi and plain scam - that's why you need to start from a clean definition of what a Ponzi is before deciding what is Ponzi and what is not

• when Tone says that "I don't think there's that many smart people in crypto" is somehow right (and I consider myself being part of the Crypto community).
  If we compare the experience and smartness of old fashioned finance and trading to the one of the Crypto community we will see that here there is still a lot to learn and improve (and I think this is true also for myself).

So, what do I think about Steem?

There's a comment by @tie-warutho which sums up what I really think:

I wouldn't be so quick to say its "impossible" for STEEM to be a Ponzi scheme as some people are doing in the comments. Obviously I am a STEEM user. If I was convinced STEEM is a Ponzi, I wouldn't be here.

What I personally think is that accusing something to be a Ponzi is something very unpleasant, and it was already done with Bitcoin too.

So we have to be very careful and fully investigate before jumping to any conclusion!
I currently TRUST the Steemit platform but this doesn't mean I want to be blind or iper-optimistic.

Final advice to all you Steemers

My final advice is: always be cautious before investing time and money; investigate and learn!

When you invest, there is always a risk involved, don't let your enthusiasm for new and cool stuff blind you. Don't be so fast to jump to hasty conclusions!

So please leave your opinion on that, it's much appreciated!