I hope this will begin to make things right.
It’s been a week since the SteemSilverGold town hall meeting and I think it’s time to finally respond and try to move on from that.
For those that haven’t been following I will provide a very brief overview of the last 2 weeks.
It came to everyone’s attention that there was a lack of clarity and no previous discussion over the ownership of the @silvergoldbotty account. @phelimint was under the impression it was his account and he was running the bot to support the community. The community felt they had the rights to ownership for this account. Unfortunately we were unable to come to a compromise over the ownership of this account and there was a call from the community to withdraw support from @silvergoldbotty and start a new bot (@ssg-community) with a more clear community governance model.
It’s unfortunate that it’s came to this and I @phelimint continue to express no wrongdoing or intentional misleading or manipulation of the community. Running this account has taken considerable time and sacrifices especially early on and even now I spend over 40hrs monthly to keep it operational. I know I often used the term “community bot” without any proper clarity regarding this definition, but for me it meant,”her role was to promote engagement on the tag, encourage recruitment and retention of new members and reward all current members for their contributions and support”. I feel she filled this role flawlessly and better than anyone could have expected over the last 7 months in existence. We had some great discussions and worked together well as community and learned a lot that can be used moving forward to help grow and strengthen the community as well.
It truly didn’t have to come to this and I’m shocked regarding how everything came to light and the attacks that continued after I tried to respond and agreed to meet with everyone.This bot has always provided steady and abundant support for the community, and that never had to end. This stryfe could have all been avoided if some members had been willing to work out just a few things instead of making hateful statements and demands. I then choose not to otherwise respond openly in such a negative and emotionally charged time. I have since stepped down for my role as group admin and role in the Steem Silver Round project as was suggested by some community members. I have also taken a step back from posting on steemit, but will return and continue posting within the #steemsilvergold community in the future. I hope we can mend these broken and hurt relationships. Certainly we all made some mistakes along the way, but hopefully we can move on in peace, love and forgiveness.
In moving forward, I feel it’s best to fully support the new bot that has emerged, and will thus have sent a donation of 300 Steem that was returned from @phelimint and I will also power down for 1 cycle and donate that full amount to @ssg-community which includes the early donations @silvergoldbotty received that were “powered up” or not adequately repaid to members through daily votes. I will also delegate 1000SP from @silvergoldbotty directly to @ssg-community once the power down is completed. Lastly I will commit to a 50% (or Gold Tier membership) to @ssg-community to help with getting this project off the ground.
Moving forward @silvergoldbotty will continue to operate as a minnow support/subscription bot under a slightly different model. This is further discussed below, but I want to assure the #steemsilvergold members they will have first access to the spots.
New Model
Limited membership for first 1-2 months, to determine viability and scalability. Will start April 1st.
Tiered subscription bot with minnow support feature.
Enrollment would be limited to 50 Tiered members (10 at each tier level) and 50 Minnow members. Tiers are based on delegation but for the first month, up to half of the tier payments may be paid in steem/sbd at a ratio of 25 delegated SP to 1 Steem/SBD. Every Tiered member may nominate 1 minnow member to receive votes from the bot. Minnow Members have no obligation to vote, delegate or donate towards the bot. It is suggested the minnow member be changed monthly.
Minnow Members must have at least 1 of the following 2 criteria. (SP under 500 or rep under 50)
| Tier-Title | Delegation | Vote | Vote Value(current) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | 2500SP | 50% | 7.50 |
| Silver | 1250SP | 25% | 3.79 |
| Nickel | 650SP | 13% | 1.97 |
| Copper | 400SP | 8% | 1.26 |
| Lead | 200SP | 4% | 0.63 |
| Minnow Member | Nomination | 1% | 0.16 |
All members will receive 1 vote every 22 hrs based on a time delay, post made prior to this 22hr window will not receive any upvotes. These tiers are subject to change slightly due to ongoing needs and will likely adjust further as membership is opened up.
All members must also vote daily on @silvergoldbotty’s post at a rate based on there current active SP. If you have less than 1000SP then the value is 100%, but for members with more SP we will use the following calculation;100 000/(your active SP)= Your minimum return vote. (Active SP is SP you have for voting after any incoming and outgoing delegations). Thus if you have 10 000SP, your vote would be 100 000/10 000=10%, or 100 000/2370= 42% and etc. This voting allows us to purchase additional steem power leases.
@silvergoldbotty also casts a daily self vote and takes part in a daily vote trade with @qurator. This helps to generate post rewards which are all used to purchase delegated steempower to further increase voting power.
These daily posts, will contain a quick update on voting power and changes and tech support issues, etc. They will also all contain a “second chance post” area, where 1 Tiered member and 1 Minnow Member will have there post showcased and resteemed daily. This will be based on an ongoing rotation.
These spot will be filled on a first come first serve basis with right of first refusal to all current members.
I have forgiven, so lets move on and work together once again for the #steemsilvergold community.
I know you put in a lot of work, Phil and that is/was definitely appreciated. I think a lot of lines got blurred somewhere in this whole process and while I don't like the fact of you claiming sole ownership that was ultimately your decision to make as you were the only one with any kind of keys.
I think I got my ROI, but can't be 100% sure as in the early days I was putting in some actual "cash" to make small donationa and buy STEEM. I think it worked out, but don't have the time to do a forensic analysis haha. But with that said I don't like where this whole thing ended up and I chose to remove my votes and delegation.
I don't hold any ill will towards you just bewilderment at your hard line stance on ownership. Despite all your work this bot wouldn't be anywhere without STRONG support from the community especially a certain few individuals. I also didn't invest nearly the resources that some of the heavy hitters did and can't blame them for being far more upset than I am.
Anyway, I think it will work out, but I don't expect a large number of folks to be quite as forgiving as myself.
@healthy-home you think flagging my comment is really the best way to reconcile the community and move forward? Poor form...
@stnwllstrtgc I assure you it was not against you or your comment in and of itself. Had your comment been one of many with relatively equal upvotes, that would have been perfectly fine. The flag was only intended to remove some of the rewards from a comment that 'fits a very niche viewpoint' of the circumstances and was upvoted dispraportionatly by two supporters of this viewpoint, while the comment failed to give sufficient recognition to what had really been offered here.
You are welcome to your viewpoint, of course. But $2.00 of upvotes from two accounts that did not even upvote this HUGE olive branch of a post....
Well.... I disagreed with the 'rewards' as distributed in this post and its comments.
Had this comment had $0.50 or even $1.00 in rewards I would have left it alone.
$2.00 going to this comment, on this post, from two accounts that refused to upvote THIS post....
-->THAT<-- was not very community minded, and I disagreed with those upvotes.
The good thing about steemit is this, you are free to upvote what you like. You do not have to upvote a post just to be able to upvote a comment. Healthy-home I can appreciate you being concerned about the reward pool. How ever the are much bigger fish to catch then this little ole $2.00 upvote. Maybe you should look into vote swapping, and flagging those accounts, seems to be a much bigger drain on the rewards pool then this. I do very much appreciate your comment and concern.
No. You misunderstand. This is not a reward pool issue.
My action was only in relation to this tiny event. Where, here was a post, offering up A VERY GOOD olive branch. And a comment that was more or less brushing that olive branch aside was being rewarded 1/10 of that of the post. While other GOOD comments were not rewarded...or very little.
IN THIS SITUATION, I disagreed with the rewards.
It has to do with this situation. Not with the rewards pool.
Free speech. Free action. Free will.
Exactly. I am glad you understand!
Why would they or I upvote the post when we no longer agree with the business model of this account.
I don't hold any ill will towards Phil I'll still follow him and will likely buy silver products from him/his business in the future. But I no longer support the @silvergoldbotty account. While his olive branch towards the @ssg-community is a good gesture it does not fully make up for the hurt/wrong done to members of the community (reputation takes a while to build back). Even if that is perceived hurt perception is often reality. While I can extend forgiveness that does not automatically mean I have to return to supporting this account.
The fact that you decided a downvote was appropriate shows that YOU have no desire to reconcile and work together. A comment would have been more appropriate and a better way to have a conversation about it, but instead you chose to be petty.
A comment would have started a debate that was really unneccesary..... As has now started. And the comment would have been to thedamus and ray, not to you.
The flag affected no one negatively. 7 days had not past, so all rewards are fluid until then. Unless you had paid thedamus and ray for those upvotes. In which case, if that is the case, I will remove the flag, because I do not wish to cause you financial loss.
Now, the real contention here is in your comment here: "While his olive branch towards the @ssg-community is a good gesture it does not fully make up for the hurt/wrong done to members of the community."
As far as I can assertain, NO hurt was done to any members of the ssg community. Certain members donated early on to start up a COMMUNITY SUPPORTING bot, and for 7 months that bot has abundantly and near flawlessly supported and HUGELY benefited the ssg community. Whether from an ROI or moral support perspective, STAX has performed VERY WELL.
Those donations were made to provide support to the community. Unless they werent. Unless those donations were not donations but Shares purchases, with an expectation or ROI to the favor of just those early donors/investors.
Because no wrong or hurt or harm or robbing or anything has happened to the ssg community as a whole. STAX functioned under the guideful hand of one man to provide for the present and future viability of upvoting members in the SSG community.
None of this work and benefit is negated because one man owns the master keys and may benefit at some future date. And if you are truly concerned, you will ensure 10 or 15 community members hold the Master Key of this new bot. Otherwise there is only a difference in the size of the future payout, but the potential result will be the same.
Now, can anyone show me how in any way any single member has been harmed or wronged in a tangible sense from the operations of STAX? Do any of the 100 community members actually have less Steem Power or vested Steem now than when they joined STAX, as a result of STAX??? Any ither actual harm done to their reputations or Steemit situation? Or has every single SSG member that has received STAX upvotes been benefited and helped and encouraged and supported by the work and efforts managed by @phelimint.
Peace
Unsure what to do, i supported you since i have been here. I feel like a child in a divorce. I care about everybody but don't really like choosing sides. i still want to be a part of the ''Whole'' community. Being a minnow is lonely at the bottom but everyone was there once right. Thanks for all your support.
Thank you!
This post really doesnt say enough, and it also says SOOOO much.
@phelimint is giving:
to a bot that is .....in all intents and purposes against and for the purpose of replacing STAX.
AND, these gifts are to a bot that is owned/controlled by a single individual that bullied and slandered Phil.
This can only speak one thing:
Phil is doing this because he truly does care about the steemsilvergold community and wants to offer peace and move forward and past this.
Maybe expectations and 'understandings' were not what everyone thought...ON BOTH SIDES of this. And yes, the community is moving past this. And the steem silver and gold community is truly an amazing one on Steemit. But two key and influential members could have handled themselves 10X better than they did. And one up and comming member has done an equal wrong by so quickly jumping on sides and throwing his weight around. It is such a shame that more community members have not called these three out on their lack of community-minded-behaviour.
Look. Only one member has spoken up correctly to the work and trouble and 'risk' and hassle that it is to run a bot. And for all that I know, aside from perhaps the top 3 or 4 or 5 donors, this bot has returned 3x and 5x and 10x to each and every ssg community member. If these top 3 or 4 or five are focused only on an ROI and are not focused on the community.... Well, that is a different problem. If they are jealous because the one doing most of the hard work running a bot is being setup to be rewarded for that work some time down the road.... Well, jealously is an ugly monster.
To my knowledge..... On a Steem per Steem basis, every beneficiary of STAX upvotes has earned a positive ROI. Perhaps a rare member, that doesnt post often, put in more than he got back. But as a whole, and as a community, EVERYONE WAS CARED FOR AND CARED FOR WELL.
So you(speaking to 2-5 members here) didnt like that Phil was getting a personal upvote!? Just speak to him on discord and work it out. So you want your initial donation back?? Ask it. Why did you have to divide the community and bully and speak vulgarity and attack someone THAT HAS done so much good for this ssg community??? This all could have been handled politely. And cordially. And appropriately. :-(
❤ Nice olive branch Phil I appreciate the gesture towards @ssg-community, as it's a new phase in ssg that I am excited about.
I'll keep my delegation as is and as for voting on Stax, I am happy to upvote more than my tier % if her posts are awesome if you get my drift...
Well, I was working for a while and missed all of the "drama" you speak of - and I am glad for that. I dislike "fights" on social media. But, people are even more likely to get upset when their expectations are not met AND there is money involved.
Maybe this will help all people involved in the future. I have two simple questions of whether or not I should "give" or invest some money:
CAN I AFFORD TO LOSE THIS MONEY?
IF THIS FRIEND DOES NOT PAY ME BACK, WILL IT DAMAGE OUR RELATIONSHIP?
You have to evaluate the nature of the relationship, first. If it's a very important relationship in your life, you sometimes have to determine ahead of time that you are going to give that person a gift - and expect no return. If they do pay it back, great! If not, you have already decided that the relationship is worth more than the amount of money. If the answer to either one of those questions is no/negative, I don't give up control over my money.
Perhaps there was not enough clarification/understanding between the SSG community in regards to the original bot? Whatever the case, @phelimint has proven his good character (to me) by making a good faith effort to settle this monetary issue - which is more than a lot of people would do.
Going forward, I think it is best that the SSG community not hold grudges over what went on here. Life is too short to go onto social media and have to deal with any more of this "drama."
wow, I take a small break and all hell breaks loose...
I always believed that @phelimint was the creator and hence, the owner. His idea, his plan and It seemed to work great at creating a community around gold/silver. Plus the paybacks are great on delegation.
So, can we support both bots then? I'm still a fan of Stax and will keep up a delegated amount as long as this continues...
You most certainly can support both bots, in the end maybe this will prove even more beneficial for everyone.
Hey @silvergoldbotty just to confirm....
If I don't have 2,500 SP to delegate for Gold Tier moving forward we are unable to pay the pay the gap in Steem or SBD after April?
"Tiers are based on delegation but for the first month, up to half of the tier payments may be paid in steem/sbd at a ratio of 25 delegated SP to 1 Steem/SBD"
So, right, I take that "for the first month" to mean that for April you can pay the gap. But starting in May he is trying to move away from it.
Ex. You delegate 1000SP. Still 'owe' 1500, 1500/25=60. So you'd still owe 60 Steem.
I do hope to move away from it, but it will all depend on steem/sbd prices and post payouts over the next month. I may continue with the half model for another month, but if I can cover the leases or loose one anyways, then we'll move to delegations only. Hope that helps.
I like what you've done here buddy. I think it goes a long way to ironing things out and helping the new @ssg-community get up and running. Nice work!
I'm keen for a tier spot and have delegated 100SP already. I'll have to pay the balance for the first month while I build some more SP to reach the 200 SP mark.
For sure man, we can totally do that.
I understood that I cannot volunteer to be a minnow and I must be indicated by someone that delegates. So, if someone invites me to be a minnow member I will gladly accept. My reason is that steemsilvergold doesn't deserve to be divided in two groups. People have different ideas and should not be isolated due to different perceptions.
Interesting enough you were going to @phelimint's minnow nominee! It's been a pleasure meeting you here on steemit, so don't worry.
Stupendous.