A Solution to Onboarding New Steemians that Benefits Everyone

I originally expressed this idea as a comment to @paulag's recent article on the serious problems with account creations, but then thought it worth expanding into a post to encourage implementation, and comments.

Let me first lay out the basic problem. The new account claiming process using one's RC has resulted in thousands of new potential accounts being created. To turn those claimed accounts into real accounts just requires setting up a username and the keys. All simple thus far, however, such new accounts are created with zero SP; they require some delegated SP merely to function. This latter process of delegating a small amount to accounts was done by @steem; then later, when an account had enough of its own SP, that delegated SP was undelegated to be used to help another new account.

A look at the @steem account on either steemworld or steemd will show that this process is still on-going; the argument @paulag makes is that it is a mere trickle compared to the demand for new accounts. Indeed, @steem currently holds 22,500 pending claimed accounts; there is also a lot of activity in delegating SP, but just looking at a sample, much of it is scaling down the original delegations. Someone may wish to analyze this further to establish a clearer picture of what is going on.

So, the problem, is whether we as a community can take over the functions of onboarding new Steemians. It will require some SP to delegate and some claimed accounts, but here are my proposals. In essence, the scheme outlined below is self-funding and hence scalable. Although my first idea was related to existing platforms, after some thought, I feel this could also work for projects such as @steemonboarding.

Onboarding for Platforms

This was my first idea: employing those platforms that already use Beneficiary Rewards (BR) to fund their systems.

Let's take some numbers as an example; these can be changed to suit each platform. Let's assume a minimum of 20 SP delegated and that a platform takes 5% Beneficiary rewards (BR). A new user band can be created that has, for example, 7% BR; that 7% BR goes towards paying back the 20 SP. Once the 20 SP is paid back, the user has the option of requesting the delegated 20 SP to be undelegated. This only makes sense to them if they have already powered up more than this, so this also encourages to vest their earnings. Making it a request, rather than something that just disappears suddenly, places the responsibility on the user. Once the SP has been undelegated, the user gets the benefit of having just 5% BR.

At the end of this process, the platform has the original 20 SP delegation back into their account plus 20 SP of profit that can be used to onboard another new account. This is how the system is both sustainable and scalable. The onboarding account must have some initial SP to delegate but this could be quite modest as STEEM is coming back in through beneficiary post rewards.

Those new users who never make it to repay the 20 SP can keep it for a fixed number of months after which it is removed, or whatever arrangement the platform chooses. Some method is needed for those new users who make no effort to pay back the delegation.

This will need some tracking code, but as all posts are on the blockchain this should not be a big hurdle.

Onboarding for Communities and Groups

It then struck me that once the tracking software is in place, this system need not be restricted to existing platforms but could be implemented by any community; indeed, any individual with a large enough account could also act as an onboarding gateway.

The scenario is exactly the same as above, with an agreement that the new user adds the delegator's account as a beneficiary up until the delegated SP has been repaid. The precise rules can be set out in a template agreement that can be posted on the blockchain and signed by the two parties in the comments.

It strikes me that initiatives such as @steemonboarding are a long way down the road to putting together a viable and vibrant system. However, they have as yet not published their financial projections and how to make the system sustainable in the long term. There is also the matter of some rewards to all the people who give their time and expertise to the project - to any project!

So this is my proposed solution. All comments welcomed.

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@rycharde manages the AAKOM project and the MAP Rewarder and Trail.