Appreciate ya. We had a good talk with @frystikken on @whatsup's discord. We don't agree on everything but think we made good progress despite the differences.
One of the biggest issues is the susceptibility of bid bots to abuse on a scale that most normal users are able to contend with decisively. Blacklists and whitelists only go so far. Users creating new account for example.
The biggest issue is the competition between bot owners creates a tendency to "lower the bar" to get more customers. Its a classic prisoners dilemma. If one doesn't cater to the abuse, another will.
This is why I am a strong advocate for front end only promotion that does not use the reward pool but for that to occur, there must be an incentive.
You can say the same about real life. Businesses cut corners and dump their trash in the ocean or in a forest to save money. They cut cost by creating a cheaper product. New Steem has police now, we police the pollution and as customers, we can go elsewhere if the business owner isn't offering a superior service. There is no right and wrong, the free market will speak. With the new tools we have on New Steem, we can speak pretty damn loud now.
Hey Dan, been meaning to get back with you on this.
I agree somewhat with the sentiment but don't think the free market should be the "end all be all".
If people willing to game the system control the majority of stake in a free market system, the "game" becomes exploitative of others that are invested in said system.
We don't want that but for the longest bid bot owners have been facilitating it.
That will only work if those tools can be used without fear of reprisal. Especially when being used with honest intent. The asymmetry created by these artificial concentrations of power creates fear. As you can see in this particular example, the fear is warranted.
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