Update on Steem 0.17.0, a.k.a. Simplicity

Great news everyone,

We are getting close to the release of Simplicity and this post clarifies some of the updates to the proposed changes originally released back in January (which can be found here). Here’s some of the killer updates we’re bringing to the next upgrade proposal:

• Permanent editing of posts
• Standardized payouts on a 7 day timer
• Removing the comment nesting limits
• Removing the payout penalty for posting ‘too much’ per day

Steem is about making amazing content how you want and getting rewarded for it. So we’re removing things that get in the way of that. That’s what this update is about.

These updates are critical to the next phase of Steem’s evolution, which you’ll be hearing more about soon.

Yo Dawg, We Heard You Like Changes

Changes to Reward Curves: Not Yet

We considered proposing a move from the n^2 curve (to either modified superlinear n or a linear n), which would mean more influence on rewards for smaller holders of Steem Power than is the case today. A modification could be good, but there are game theoretic challenges that haven’t been fully modeled. Because of this, we’re postponing these changes.

Rest assured, we’ve completed the implementation. We just need to see how it functions. If it performs better than the current model, we may include it in the 0.18.0 release.

These changes are about rewarding the best content, so we’re handling any voting curve changes with care.

Comment Curation Rewards To Remain

Earlier we proposed cutting curation rewards for comment votes. This was to encourage altruistic voting on comments and reduce the incentive to pile votes on an existing popular comment for personal gain (in the form of curation rewards). It would also incentivize curation bots to vote on posts, instead of comments.

But in the spirit of simplicity, we want rules to be consistent across both reward funds. Minor theoretical issues don’t warrant more complexity and inconsistency. That’s why comment voting rewards (for both authorship and curation) will function the same as posts.

(This also means that when the reward curves are updated post-0.17.0, you can expect comment rewards and post rewards to use identical curves.)

Learn More on Github

Want to learn more about the 0.17.0 release? You can find more about them at the Steem GitHub Repository. (edit to clarify timing* A final release candidate is probably coming this week and a hardfork date will be set for one week after that.)

And remember to vote for the Witnesses who upgrade to the changes YOU want to see! Steem’s evolution depends on your votes!

NEXT: The New Steem Development Process