For me, as an AnCap, it is free market or die.
As such, I can not be opposed to, on principle, the movements of independent actors such as @abit and other whales here on the platform acting in concert to achieve goals of redistributing power/clout to a different cross-section of users. If this was an overall official policy change of the Steemit platform itself, then I might be concerned. As it stands, however, Steemit remains a virtually free market.
Reasons why this experiment sucks:
- Bloggers who have worked their asses off building up an audience (some of said audience being whales) are now being downvoted for being successful and having the attention of whales via their high-quality content and dedication to the platform. I know a few friends who have been really busting their asses to build an audience on here just to have the votes they have worked so hard to earn whisked away by this "experiment." Again, not saying it's "not fair." I am saying it is not good for the platform.
(This kind of thing is a great way to drive away the most loyal, hardworking bloggers and shoot the platform in the foot. One prominent content creator I know of has already stated he will be taking a break. Way to go, downvoters.)
Minnows and whales who have never yet gotten a big whale vote may now be punished if they do finally get one! and lose it via this half-baked plan. This disincentivizes new users from giving the platform a real go.
It poorly interprets the flagging system. This is where the "half-baked" part comes in. The platform guidelines give these "common reasons" for flagging a post:
@smooth, one of the whales participating in this downvote fest, adds a notice to every post he downvotes for this "experiment." It reads:
Wait a second. "...not intended to result in a net reduction of rewards or reputation"?????? The intentions don't really matter. This is exactly what happens in many cases. And if this is not why the downvote is being applied, then the downvote doesn't fit the aforementioned "common reasons."
That said, these are not hard, fast rules, so again, I am not saying that anything about this is "unfair." I just have my doubts as to the whether this whole thing is beneficial to the platform. The Commies who want something for nothing seem to be in love with it, and that is always a big red flag (no pun intended) for me.
What about the good stuff?
As cynical as I may sound, I do see some potential good coming from this. Essentially, that it is always good to stir up the waters and try something new. As I said, as long as this is not "Official Steemit Platform Policy" I am glad to see people voluntarily getting together in groups and trying new things out. This experiment may allow for lesser known, high-quality content creators to rise to the top. Who knows. I am buckled in, as always, bound fast to the Steem train as we pick up speed on this shiny blue Rearden Graphene Steel.
~KafkA
Graham Smith is a Voluntaryist activist, creator, and peaceful parent residing in Niigata City, Japan. Graham runs the "Voluntary Japan" online initiative with a presence here on Steem, as well as Facebook and Twitter. (Hit me up so I can stop talking about myself in the third person!)
