I agree with a lot of this. Hive has been held back by scaring off good people. Anyone giving out downvotes has to appreciate that will be taken badly by some. We are losing users anyway, as I know from the #BritList where most of the people I have found are inactive. The big players have it in their power to make it better, but we all play a part. I have spent so much time trying to persuade people to stay. Sometimes that works.
We do have plenty of trolls and some have a big stake. I think they are a small minority though and we cannot let them dominate. There is so much good stuff going on here and many people are mostly unaware of what we are discussing. It is often the case that problems get over-emphasised and we should get things in perspective.
Hive is different to other platforms. We have freedom and that includes freedom to be a dickhead. There is no overall boss, but those with power have to decide what future it could have. It won't necessarily be what they would like. It may not be all carefully researched articles by experts. It could have lots of cat pictures. Short posts can exist here as well as long ones. The community can decide what they are worth.
We do need to deal with various forms of abuse though. That has to be done fairly and transparently. There are organised groups who will create lots of accounts specifically to milk rewards. Others will be badly advised about what Hive is. It can be hard to tell which is which, but new users should be given a chance to prove themselves and they should be able to find guidance.
I think we can be better and it is worth trying.
!BEER
I do believe Hive can and if we want it to be relevant in the future MUST BE better... I hear you when you say problems get over-emphasized at times, but remember: everybody going out the door is leaving with NOTHING BUT THE PROBLEMS, so the longer we fail to get serious about resolving the problems that keep recurring, the more people there are going to be that know just the problems.
I of course understand that freedom involves freedom for people to act a straight fool, but let me tell you from across the Pond from you ... oh say can you see the cleanup we are having to do here when the fools run wild for a few years? How long do you think it will take for the reputation of the United States to recover? Freedom is wonderful ... but you know, justice for abusers and fairness toward users had better come with it. Hive needs to get a REAL sense of that just as much as my beloved country -- and SOON! I'm here to work for that in both places!
I am well aware that every person we drive away will tell others not to bother with Hive. You can see plenty of that on Blurt. We have to get the balance right of dealing with actual abuse and it isn't easy.
I probably care too much about this stuff :)
Well, Hive needs MORE PEOPLE who care, just this much -- so you are doing a GREAT JOB!