Appropriate to Flag a Ponzi scheme?
I'm still a bit new here so I'd like to get some advice on flagging. There is a member here posting affiliate links to 'bitcoingolem' (I'm purposefully not including the link).
It is obviously a ponzi scheme, and my thought is that one of the advantages of Steemit is that we can call out bad behavior to discourage it.
Is this an appropriate case to flag a post? What's the etiquette?
Thanks in advance for your feedback.
As someone who hangs out in the mining subsection often... a significant portion of the content are all affiliate link related (whether its a Ponzi scheme or not) and its quite frustrating to not hit the flag button... Consider carefully about voicing your concerns politely in a reply, with some references. I recently had an interaction of the sort with respect to some posted reports of profit from some BTC/realestate thing (see my reply history if you're interested) - and upon preparing this reply, I went to go look at it, the original post was flagged and hidden, whether the information and concerns I presented were an influence on this, I cannot be certain. And the arguments about downvoting, animosity caused, and censorship are quite complex it seems, and as to my feelings about affiliate programs in general are not necessarily the most pertinent for this particular thread (do discuss any further) - so I'll leave them out :3.
With that said, I'm still an ultra nub on Steemit - but from my observation/reading the general population appears to generally be not to into it. However, remember that it takes people to go against the grain (or at least talk about it for thing to change sometimes).
P.S. That was a giant run on sentence there amoungst a whole bunch of other things :3, sorry!
I agree - it's not an easy decision to make. I feel like part of being a good curator is to make it clear that programs designed to take advantage of people do not gain traction - but as someone very new here I'm honestly concerned about the potential backlash.
I kind of think this this curation system is kind of messed up, some portion of it seems to have some unpleasant popularity contest/snowball effect hints. Though with that said a good chunk of worthwhile posts make it through. May considering only upvoting what you like - unless you want to make money, then just play the game like everyone else does. Unfortunately it appears that voting strategies that optimize profit and ones that maximize quality of content are mutually exclusive. Though I assume there is a medium somewhere (clearly, many of the bloggers here who are popular make great content and deserve upvotes.)
The flag is not inherently evil...I think of it as a downvote instead. I don't know about whether or not the system promoted is or isn't a Ponzi, so I'd be inclined just to ignore it. Good luck with your decision.
Thanks for your reply!
It's definitely a Ponzi scheme. People out trolling for affiliate signups, give us your bitcoin and we'll give you a steady stream of income from it...
I can of course ignore it, but I thought part of the point here was for us to police ourselves a bit?
Ok, but (having spend the better part of 20 years earning a living through affiliate marketing) I can assure you that all such marketing is not "ponzi" related. My most successful earner was (and still is, 15 years later) an legitimate internet web hosting company. On a more significant plane, consider Melaleuca, which is has achieved massive success using a multi-level (MLM) affiliate marketing program, or, on an even more successful level, AMWAY. Affiliate marketing, in and of itself, is not indicative of a Ponzi scam.
Because those things you describe have an actual product to create value in the chain. Mary Kay cosmetics is another very legitimate MLM.
I don't disagree with you - but right now there are at least two bitcoin ponzi schemes and more will come. The difference is that these projects are 'Madoffing' - give us your coins and you will get more back - with no realistic plan how to do so.
I understand - but add that if you are convinced something is fraudulent, are you not bound to report the activity to the police? Compared to that, a Steemit Flag doesn't accomplish much.