I was not here in the era before bots. In my time here, I've noticed several different type of bots. There are the obvious bots that are free for anyone to use; and there we focus our attention on the abuse. Of which I agree it is prevalent. There are also discrete bots supported by esteemed members of the community to support 'whitelisted' members.
Are these reputable members operating discrete bots that support their circle of friends also ruining STEEM?
In using the term bidbots, does this also apply to vote selling? There are many individuals in Rep 60-70 that purchase votes from @smartmarket and @minnowbooster. Can an algorithm be used to track sold votes?
I wrote a cookie parody post once when I saw a food post boosted all the way to trending. I bidbot it with all my earning to see where it would land; nowhere near trending. The @transparencybot stopped by and acknowledged all the bots used, but not the votes that were sold/bought.
So if a MUTE capability is the proposed solution, how will it track individuals that purchase votes?