Bots are a hot topic debate!

Are they good or bad for steemit? I have thought about this a lot lately. Not only am I making a bot myself, I am also writing a sci-fi about AI. So I thought I would share my thoughts on the topic!

My first bot mistake.

I made an originality checker bot, called @OriginalWorks. I initially got flagged by a high ranking user (and rightfully so).

What did I do wrong?

My bot would post on EVERY article whose material was original. This was essentially spam. My intentions were good, but my execution was poor.

How did I remedy the situation?

I spoke in length to the user, @blueorgy, who kindly recommended how I change the bot, and even agreed to unflag it. At first I was a bit taken aback by being flagged, but after speaking with him, I realized I was in the wrong.

How did I change it?

I made the bot a mention-only bot. So only when @OriginalWorks is mentioned as a reply to a post does it activate, and check the originality of the post and upvoting it. This way, the bot is request only.

Back to the topic: Good bot, bad bot.

So what is a bad bot?

• Too general.
  --->This would be like my initial bot that posted on SO much content without being requested to do so.
• Follow bot.
  --->A bot the posts messages on new posts asking to be followed in exchange for follows etc.
• A bot that does not reveal its identity.
  ---> Often, these follow bots will pretend to be human. If it is a bot, I believe it should announce it, or make it obvious otherwise.

What is a good bot?

• Adds value.
  --->This is key. Does a bot add value to the users? Does it make Steemit more enjoyable?
• Non-intrusive.
  ---> This is mostly for non request bots. I think a good example is @cheetah. Although the bot is not request only, it only messages on the plagiarized content. This is a relatively small amount of work here on Steemit (As I have noticed through running my own bot.)

Are bots good for steemit?

The answer to this question is a resounding "depends"! I believe good bots enrich the system. They add functionality and options. Bad bots on the other hand, overload the servers for no good reason. Fortunately, we have whales to keep those in check :)

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