RE: Steemit.com: Clarify Terms Of Service Document Regarding The Use Of Bots On Steem/Steemit
As a minnow who has spent a fair amount of time looking at how things work,
I agree with what your friend says, but I disagree 100% with your conclusion! (no offense intended) :-)
Bots are killing steem! and are NOT helping minnows IMHO.
If steem want "engagement" then bots are 100% opposite of that.
If whales have zero time to read & consider content then let them not vote.
At the moment whales help whales because that helps whales (see no mention of minnows!)
Sure without bots maybe less votes are cast, maybe that means slower growth, but it also levels the playing field.
Current MSM is based on a few at the top dictating to the mass population.
That is exactly the current concept whale bot voting is propagating IMHO.
If the "audience" is to decide good / bad and read/unread content that is the model needed.
So "readers" should be rewarded more, but that won't happen while up vote bots exist.
Just my $0.02 worth :-)
Thanks for your comment. I would prefer a level playing field. The white paper for Steemit makes clear that the premise of the system is to 'let the market decide' and that basically any flaws of the kind that bots reveal are flaws in free market capitalism. There would need to be a consensus amongst the steem users to outlaw bots before it would occur I think and even then Steemit Inc. might ignore the request.
I see 'value' in "checking bots".
But the up vote bots, take away the concept of "community engagement" and move power to the big fish / bots.
My view is "authors" can earn by 'selling' in volume
and "consumers" by viewing / consuming.
For every "author" there should be 10 or 100 readers.
That provides a basis for quality content.
Stuff that my grandkids could find value in inheriting.
Do we really want a store of "i ate / did this today" posts?
Do they have "value" just because a bot up voted them?
IMHO "blogging" / posting your meal is so 1990's anyhow (but that is prob off topic) and I see zero value in posting a youtube video with not additional info. Or even a single non descriptive photo.
My point is, what will the value of steem contents be in 2, 5 , 10 years? a pile of nothing or a great resource of art, literature, brainfood ?
In that model maybe 80% of vote value is shared by 'consumers'.
ie the EXACT oppose to the way MSM is run ATM
There are two main threads of participators here - one who seeks to make money from money and one who seeks to socially network and also make money from 'proof of their brain' - as the Steemit whitepaper calls it.
A balance clearly needs to be struck, since without investment of 'money', the value of steem is low and that inhibits growth of the form that you prefer.
My suggestion, based on the principles extolled in the whitepaper is to put forward improvements for the curation system so that upvote bots are not needed since all the best content gets to the top anyway.
I agree, I think the 2 concepts are not mutually exclusive.
The issue in my view is the bots are tipping thing to far one way. This means that new users are leaving (50% in one report I saw) this halts growth of the platform which hurts all.
I think it is the combination of bots + whale power that are the cause of the problem.
I also think bots can be beaten. :-)
We just need minnow to read & support minnows not bots.
The mass in numbers will beat any scripted programming efforts.
Bots become 'useless' in some ways. But educating a "mass" is not easy!
All power imbalance is the result of a few taking it from the many - yes. The issue is getting the many to overcome their divisions to support each other - which takes an evolution of the heart and self. This is the focus I have in life - which is why my own social network is focused primarily on healing, balancing and evolving.
The inherently competitive nature of Steemit is one of the causes of division - so there needs to be a middle way found for mutual support - maybe steemit can become more anarchic than anarcho-capitalist in some ways and then it might really explode!
I followed you here btw.
Thanks.
I'm still trying to understand the "nature" of steemit.
I get the techo part, it's the aims & directions that interest me.
I suspect the 'plan' may be to allow it to just evolve. Darwins theories would suggest that is not a great idea, many 'species' die out!
The great concept that is Steem will be overtaken by another organization if Steemit does not have a clear and generally directed focus.
"self evolution" does not have to be purely organic IMHO
The principle according to the whitepaper is to use free market principles along with intelligent decisions to empower everyone in a balanced way. I agree that balance is lacking in significant ways and currently I am working on documentation that might resolve some of that.
That sounds great.
Steem is still "new" and in a big picture view is on the cusp of reinventing a huge part of human interaction.
Many times "systems" can be great but don't match the current 'volume' ie they are not in a state of 'equilibrium'. I'd suggest this would apply to Steem at the moment.
The difficult part is how to fine tune, without over compensating.
But as I previously suggested, the core concept needs to be understood before any implementation can be effective.
I look forward to reading your paper.