Proof of stake and censorship

in #sneak6 years ago

Maybe steemit is kind of broken.

I mean, it works as it was written. And it's a mammoth technical accomplishment. But proof of stake shouldn't be used for censorship purposes. When it is, you get stuff like what just happened between @sneak and a large user group on this site.

I'd gotten my highest post ever, ~$10.00 for a comment... that a lot of people liked.

But one person, @sneak, did not like it, because it told the truth about performance on steemit.com and contained my frank thoughts about him. So now, my post is hidden due to low ratings... when 57 people other than sneak thought it was excellent.

@sneak didn't break the rules of steemit. There are no rules here-- stake rules. And it's my intention to posit that this may be a problem with proof of stake social media systems. They may in fact be just as prone to censorship as the systems that they are designed to replace.

I'm trying to wrap my head around it, but I think there's a serious flaw here, and I'm not only referring to @sneak when I say that.

If you have suggestions on how to fix this, please don't hesitate to drop a line.

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You are wrong here brother, the blockchain itself is free from censorship. The post you made about @sneak will forever remain in the blockchain and no one can ever change that. I am not sure what is going on here or why you are being flagged but I have faith this will be worked out in time. I think it is good you bring this up though because the use of the flag needs more discussion imo. For now stay focused and keep posting brother. Do not worry about how much you are earning and focus on creating content you enjoy.

I agree with you @thejohalfiles, but I also do think that there is something to what @jacobgadikian has said. I too have had many posts blocked because of either:

  • users disagreeing with me
  • some sort of bot/flagging system put me on a blacklist for disguising my links with a shortener.

It can be pretty frustrating if your post gets hidden due to a downvote/flag without any way to contest it. My solution would be to change the flagging system so that maybe it lets people know the comment was flagged, so that they can either flag it themselves or upvote it. This way the downvote bots get less power and the whole system becomes more democratic. Decentralization is the end goal, so why let one group control/monopolize?

I do see the catch 22 here, but it is an age old philosophical thought experiment.

I´m agree with @thejohalfiles "I think it is good you bring this up though because the use of the flag needs more discussion imo" I´m learning a new things reading all of this, thanks God my post remain in the blockchain..! if I faint I have the certainty that it will be there! through time, history and eternity.

You're right and so am I.

The blockchain is free of censorship.

Censorship happens on steemit.com regardless.

Or another way to put it: you're not wrong... Neither am I ;).

You are exactly right. Steemit is no different than the external system because it is designed as a hierarchy. As with all hierarchical systems, there is a period of time when certain people can rise to the top and those people are self-satisfied with the way things are as they have gained favor. Others do not gain favor and are controversial. The flagging mechanism is analagous to gun ownership. If only the cops have guns, they can kill people and people have no defense - hence in your case 57 people upvoted you and one person whipped out his gun and killed you and you have nothing to say about it. Yup. But the masses are fine with it as it is, so it probably won't change. The same thing happened to me a long time ago - a whale did not like an article I wrote that had been well-liked by many - and was up to $200+ (that was back in 2016, when posts were worth a lot more)- the whale flagged it and it was gone.

One thing you can do is re-enter your post in @whatamidoing 's Dead Post Contest -

I happen to appreciate your "Frank thoughts" my friend.
Pretty crazy that a group of Developers on the platform find it more important to harass users rather than actually fix the rampant problems. Each day, more and more, this blockchain experiment is acting more like a massive Robbery.

Upvoted and following as I appreciate anyone willing to speak truth but my suggestion would be to charge a steep amount for people to use the flag option. This flagging nonsense is getting out of control and is making steemit a libtard utopia.

shitty bro. Yes, like @thejohalfiles says, this does need discussion. Not being a techie I don't know how to discuss the mechanics, but the result is clear to me that it's not an ideal result.

Congratulations @jacobgadikian!
Your post was mentioned in the hit parade in the following category:

  • Pending payout - Ranked 3 with $ 52,07