(image source: Make a Meme.org)
- (Note: I have declined all rewards for this post.)
A couple of days ago I woke to a slew of downvotes on my post ‘10 Tips for Improving ITSM Metrics and Reports’. My initial reaction was “visceral” because like many, I can be an emotionally reactive person when invested in something. Add to that, my experience on Steemit has been sometimes frustrating, and often confusing.
This recent downvoting campaign against, what I felt was a well written and good piece. I hardly ever put less than two days into writing and organizing one of my Information Technology related posts. So, to get such a negative response was very saddening. However, when I saw a comment from one of the downvoters, I was confused. I was being targeted because I used a “bid bot” or “paid for votes”. After what started as a less than a warm exchange, especially on my side, the conversation turned into an educational process…for me. Thank you @slobberchops, @steevc and @joshman for your patience and lesson.
Now, I will be the first to tell you that I don’t know about all the “ins and outs” of Steemit and the Steem blockchain. I never really cared much about the guts of how rewards work and stuff like that. I just loved the idea of “Proof of Brain”. Being rewarded for what you create and according to the quality as determined by the community then allowing the community to reward you for it. It all makes sense to me.
Now, I originally joined Steemit back in December of 2017. I hung around for a while, but life took hold and I disappeared. Then around October 2019 things slowed down…some. So, I started working on a couple of WordPress blogs. I have a passion for helping people with computer stuff, especially older generations who were not raised with computers. Then there is my love for IT Service Management frameworks and methodologies. That is what these blogs were for. More than anything, I just love taking what I have learned and still learning and place it into words. So, what better place to bring that information to than Steemit. Get some engagement, meet new people with the same personal and professional interests, on a platform not managed by a corporation, but by the community itself. Hey, and let’s be honest, we all want to earn some rewards for our efforts too. I found the @steempress plugin and away we went.
So that leads me to where we are now. During my return, I really wanted to start getting more eyeballs on my posts and find more people with similar interests. This is harder than it seemed. The search function for Steem sites seems to lack a little to be desired and often end up with results that do not even come close to what you are looking for. My next thought was that I need to get my content seen, then those people will find me, and I can start socializing and communicating with them.
That’s when I came across a site known as @tipu and @minnowbooster. My understanding of these sites was that they have approved curators, who have proven to only curate quality content and reference blacklists to ensure they do not vote on those users listed. You can delegate SP to these projects as well, which I did at one point.
But none of this was what got me in the crosshairs of this downvoting barrage. What put me in the line of fire was that I had “purchased votes” according to those who have and continue to crush me. Anyway, I paid and received votes in return. Something that is now frowned upon greatly in the community…with a caveat.
It seems if you decline rewards, then this is ok. Otherwise, it is bad form. Very well, noted!
So, for now, I am examining my next steps. Anyway, I think for now I will keep posting. Heck, I’m already making the posts on another blog, so it’s no extra work on my part. Plus, there are characters here who I enjoy following. Looking at spending a little more time getting back to looking for people with common interests and building friendships as well as learning more about Steemit and Steem.
Just going to approach it more carefully and slowly…or not. Not sure if I am sticking around or not, but time will tell. It is just frustrating since my time on @steemit becuase I get penalized and told to do something one way, and then when I do it, I get penalized by some other group. Too much content and comments and you are a spammer, too little and you are not a productive member of the community. Voting or commenting on a post, or another comment, of someone who has a beef with someone else will get you downvoted, even though you have nothing to do with the beef. Yeah...I'm still trying to understand how all this works.
I would have given you a vote for this if you didn't decline, thanks for seeing it our way and may you continue to create here.
It's not so clear cut if you don't post for a week nothing will happen, and you won't have the STEEM police banging your door down demanding you create!
If you post quality material too often, then you find your followers have no got the VP to keep up with you and you may miss votes as they want to spread them around more.
There are no rules like this, just relax, don't buy votes and keep going.
I'm following you now as I do with the small percentage who see sense and don't take it all personally.
The ones that don't either leave in anger or alienate themselves from the community spouting off bad language and telling the world how terrible they have been treated.
I am not sure I still see it the same way as you do, but I can understand why you do. Once I get a better grasp of the way rewards work, and why the way in which one receives votes is such a hot topic, I may be able to have a more definite position.
As @joshman said yesterday, the reaction by many to a down vote is visceral. My reaction was no exception, only multiplied by the fact I received tons of them (and they are still coming.) After some introspection, I found that a good post, with time invested, going to waste triggered me more than anything else. Plus I don't like being ignorant and as I discovered yesterday, I don't know as much about Steem and Steemit as I thought...not even close. So having my ignorance pointed out just exasperated it.
That is an appreciated thought. Thank you. I followed you, @joshman and @steevc. I figured anyone who took the time to try and help me understand their viewpoint, without being a jerk about it, is someone worth following.
You remind me of a boss from years ago. He was the support manager, but now has his own company and writes content like you on Facebook.
He used to be open-minded about technology but now pointedly ignores all my approaches to him sending his content to the chain..., ah well.
Oh no, I am all about the potential of blockchain. Especially with proof of brain and other concepts.
I was meaning in the context of your content.
It can be hard to figure out what is acceptable on Steem. There are no global rules and what counts as abuse is a matter of opinion. I only downvote to remove unearned rewards and that includes paid votes. There is a finite reward pool and I want to see the community decide where that goes. Not that I have a massive influence. Most of us are not against promoting posts by buying votes if you do decline rewards as that is pretty much what you do on other platforms. A lot of the vote sellers switched to manual curation as they still earn well from it and it makes Steem look better.
I do not want to drive good people away as we really need them. With just a few thousand active users Steem will be seen as insignificant in social media. We need pioneers who will take a risk on it. For now we need to consolidate the user base and put out content that is seen to have value.
I hope you can find ways to make it work for you.
Yes, I have figured that out for sure. I guess the "decentralization", although has benefits does have draw backs, like "mob mentalities". But then again, it is all about the community I guess and what the acceptable social norms are.
Appreciate the thought. Was just really frustrated yesterday. See my reply to @slobberchops on another thread under this post as to why. I know that from now on I plan to start researching and asking questions if there is even a thought of something offending the overall community sensibilities.
I think you've earned a few new followers simply by being reasonable and forthright about the situation. It's a coin flip how people react, but you seemed to have landed on the right side and not let your first impulse get the best of you. Cheers to that!