Well said! I can’t tell you how frustrating it is to see downvotes, especially ones as heavy as you’ve received. Also, I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen a downvote followed by a comment to explain why it been given and that’s just cowardice in my book. Like you put it, you can do much better by ignoring what you don’t like and concentrate on what you do like. Upvote the shit out some pro-vaccine post and reblog it all the way home, that is a fair reaction. What isn’t fair is running up behind someone a tripping them over with a massive down vote. People like this will ruin hive if they get their way.
@smooth has been here from the beginning I think, and has been consistent in his preferences iirc. People like this have made Hive what it is, both it's promise and it's failure to achieve it, and that's the truth.
Something I have attained as a result of the value of my writing being adjusted here by @smooth and others is the realization that I do not write for financial rewards, and such attention is far more valuable to me than money.
A man is justified by his foes. The truth is proven by them lying to disprove it. Advocates for vaccine safety know this as well as anyone.
I have grown to appreciate criticism far more than tokens, and it is the lack of forthright criticism accompanying the flags flown on my blog that dismays me most. YMMV, but Hive's true value isn't it's token. It's the community and the conversations we undertake.
Too often flags fly and those conversations don't ensue, or far too little exposition of the matters at issue is undertaken. This aspect of flagging in no way diminishes @thoughts-in-time 's points. It's another aspect of the market, but actually of more value IMHO.
The market for the truth is not valued in dollars, nor Hive. Like mothers, the truth has far more value than money.
Not many I know are able to grasp the value of criticism in this way, and certainly few are happy to be flagged here on Hive, but for folks that post for reasons other than money, the value of dissent cannot be overstated.
I make money with a hammer. I tell the truth as I see it with a keyboard.
To me, them dispelling my misunderstandings do me a great service. Sadly, too few bother when they can just fly a flag and move on.
Thanks for posting for the right reasons. The real rewards for doing that are more valuable than all the Hive tokens in the world.
Thank you for your thoughtful feedback, @valued-customer, and well said! Great to see you again!
....start tagging with @proofofbrain , matey - you definitively qualify !
Nice to see you again !
I hope is all as well as it can be.
Hello @valued-customer, it’s good to hear from you. I agree with your sentiments here, I really do and reading your comment is a slap in the face(in a good way) to remind me of the real world consequences of speaking out. Nonetheless I have to disagree when putting your ethos against a platform like hive. Now, I’m going to choose my words carefully as I respect you.
IMO what you’re saying is that we should simply ignore what @smooth and others like him are doing and carry on regardless or even wear his flag as a badge. Now that is all good and well for an established account with a following because your message is your weapon and no flag can take that away. But what for those just starting out? And what for those looking in from the outside? If I’d have seen this behaviour on day one of my hive/steem journey I’d have looked elsewhere and branded hive just another controlled platform no different to Facebook. What’s happening here is nothing less than a Twitter shadow ban or a YouTube 3rd strike and if we stand for free speech shouldn’t this be something to speak out against rather than ignored? The whole point of hive is to incentivise users to add content without fear of being muted and now we see exactly the opposite happening. That’s not right.
At the end of the day we have come here for an adult conversation and what’s happening when it comes to downvotes is anything but. Yes, downvotes have a purpose but that purpose has been abused so maybe we need to pushback against it. If we don’t, we might just be left here holding our balls with nobody left to see how big they are...
Haha! I think I just enjoy an argument but I guess that’s kind of the same beast. Nonetheless, Thanks for the beats 😎👊
If I dug into my long catalog of comments I would certainly find similar concerns regarding new accounts. I absolutely agree.
However, I cannot recommend nor undertake to control the stake of another. All I control is what is mine, and that is what I recommend. If all the choices you can make are either to ignore flags or wear them like badges, then make your choice. Like all else in life, Hive is not fair. What we do when abused is our measure.
I have chosen to post and comment as I reckon true and useful, and it is my expectation that a day will come when none will be cruel, ignorant, or liars. I do not expect that day to come to Hive, or before my death.
Even so, I live and breathe as if it has come, as I am able. Such regrets as I have are caution against acquiring more by speaking ill, and it is enough to manage my own exertions. I have no business commanding others how to undertake theirs.
I hope flags and insults are too little to dislodge you, and others from whose words I gain, from Hive.
Thanks!
Hi @valued-customer! While I don't have much to add to this discussion atm, I'm 100% positive I remember your writings from steem, and I think they were in fact, similar. I'm (probably) back after a ~1yr break and it's really heartening to see you're not outta here. Re criticism.. people don't like being told it's not good. It's deeply rooted and hard to overcome. We've got a cultural pressure on good/best/etc, everything everywhere is scored and judged, and, criticism, especially public, is often viewed as negative & aggressive, because of three things:
I sometimes really wish we all learnt from the very beginning to react with "thank you, care to explain?" when hearing "you're doing it wrong" instead of fighting back and defending our PoV.
Criticism is all too often not constructive. Not to play too much on words, but it was working in construction that impelled me to more appreciate criticism, as there is always a better way to make and fix things. The rough characters in the trade necessitated thickening my skin to be able to benefit from their teaching, and in time I realized that insults are without either merit or onus, as if they are true they are not insults at all, but factual statements, and if they are not they do not apply.
Thanks!
@article61, thanks for your thoughtful feedback!
"People like this will ruin hive if they get their way."What you said: That's exactly what I'm worried about!