RE: Why I’m About Ready To Quit Steemit: The Disillusionment Slingshot Onwards To Greener Pastures...
If you're truly leaving because of "OPPORTUNITY COST" then please be honest enough with yourself and others to say that up front. Don't use an emotional rant about someone else or how the values of the platform are out of alignment. Say it plainly like this:
You, the Steemit community, are not worth my time anymore. I have more important and more valuable things to do.
That would have been honest. You could have also just slipped out the back door becuase you're busy with other things. To instead post an emotional rant / rage quit and call to question the values of the platform is disrespectful to those of us who do think it's worth our time and are working to shape those values daily.
I've voiced my respect for the raw honesty you've shown in the past. That created an expectation for me which wasn't met here.
I wish you well, sir.
I'm not sure if its your misunderstanding or my miscommunication at root of the conflict here.
as I've said, there are multiple factors contributing my disillusionment with the site, (and I don't appreciate having words put in my mouth as you've attempted here.)
frame it as "an emotional rant" if you want - the point is, this community has been throwing money at - making an investment in - a person whose track record is a threat to the integrity of the community. I held in my viewpoint for two months - and finally, there came the breaking point where I needed to be honest about matter. perhaps, it stirred up more trouble than it was worth, without having gone into extensive detail trying to point out to people the subtle details in the dynamics of the matter that most do not see. (and perhaps I had other expectations at play of others to read between the lines.)
some things can't be spelled out directly - and it's a fine like to walk with a degree of uncertainty, determining whether to keep quiet altogether or drop a few breadcrumbs for those to follow who feel compelled to dig and find out for themselves.
based on both your comments, you're trying to paint things out as though they're clear black or white. you seem to be getting hung up on specific points and getting defensive rather than viewing the larger context as a whole - maybe that's a consequence of my not having written things more clearly. but then again, regardless of how clearly they could be written, maybe I should have expected such responses by honestly putting forth a viewpoint that challenged the culture - classic group psychology.
I apologize. My intention was not to offend you but to (hopefully) help you understand how the words you are using here can be interpreted (and are being interpreted by me).
Maybe "emotional rant" went too far, but whether or not something is a "rant", to me, is subjective. This post fit what I consider a rant and as you are an important member of this community to date, I called you out on it.
In communication, all we have to go on is the words we use.
I based my reply on what you indicated was the primary reason: OPPORTUNITY COST. You not only put it in all caps, but you replied to others with the same answer. How else should I interpret that but with the words you say I put in your mouth?
Maybe it's impolite to say, "Steemit is no longer valuable enough to me to continue. My time and attention are more valuable elsewhere." but how else should I have interpreted your main point? I also dislike when people put words in my mouth, but I further dislike when I (or anyone else) uses language which portrays true feelings even if I (or they) don't currently recognize it. I prefer people who care about me point out the meanings of the words I'm using and, hopefully, reveal a part of my subconscious I wasn't ware of (and often don't like).
I'm fine with opportunity cost being part of your reasoning. Surely there are many more, but as you said, it's very nuanced and hard to communicate. I'm fine with Steemit not being as valuable to you now as it once might have been. The reason for my defensiveness is that I'm defending something I value (this community), specifically when the values of this community or put on trial instead of what you yourself said is a more accurate reason: Opportunity Cost.
When it comes to tribal loyalties and community involvement, it's not uncommon to devalue the community in our own minds before being able to leave it. It's quite common, actually. If you have other uses of your time that are more valuable to you, then by all means, pursue them. I hope, as you said, you'll also come back here from time to time and provide some value to us as well. I'm glad you communicated emotions you had bottled up for months. Unfortunately, when we bottle up emotions for too long, often their expression is misunderstood.
thanks for this last clarification.
it has been a wild ride here, from the highs to the lows, all the investment I put into the community, to being disillusioned (perhaps just by my own expectations), and gaining different perspectives on it all along the way.
and granted, I got defensive at your comments, also. odd loops. it felt weird to be called disrespectful by questioning the community values, when I've been supporting the community from the start - and the reasoning for bringing up the issue is because it stands to reason having a person with a history as a shuckster being the top ambassor might not be in the best long-term interest in solidifying the site's reputation outside its own circle jerk. also got defensive at the suggestion any of this was less than raw honest - as honestly was the whole point. though yeah - backed up emotion may not have translated clearly, and I may still have my moments where an aggressiveness overrides the diplomacy.
I appreciate this last articulation/reply of yours. :-)