Overheard: A polite, measured conversation between two Steemians.
I was surfing through CyberSpace the other day, when I overheard this fragment of conversation:
S1: "I wish some knowledgeable Steemians would help me understand something about Steemit?"
S2: "Like what? You aren't talking about flagging again, are you?"
Any time I hear "Steemit" or "Steemian," my ears perk up, don't yours? Trying not to be obvious about it, I quietly forked a task to track and record what was being said...
An Unsplash Photo
Photo courtesy of Emily Morter and http://unsplash.com
S1: No way! Flagging's been overdone!
S1: And as tired as I am of the whole "flagging" debate, I've got something else on my mind.
S2: "What, then?"
S1: "It's just that there seem to be rules here, written or otherwise, that I don't get."
S2: "What kind of rules?"
S1: "Well, Steemit is supposed to be uncensored, right? But I'm not sure where the founders draw the line, if at all, about commercial speech."
Just then, the pair Steemians tunneled through a VPN, and it was all I could do to keep up with them.
S2: "Oh, now I think I see where you're going with this."
S1: "Do you know what the rules are?"
S2: "No, not really."
S1: "I mean, I have seen some people - usually artists? - post connections to websites where they sell their books, music, photographs. No problem."
S2: "Yeah, I've seen that too... But is art some kind of exception?"
S1: "That's just it, I don't know. I've seen others post links or information about other kinds of enterprises, and then get flagged for it. Sometimes apparently vigorously suppressed, other times maybe once and then ignored. I don't understand."
This was starting to get really interesting. I've wondered about some of these things myself.
S2: "Wow."
S1: "Yeah. Of course, I don't want to do anything, intentional or otherwise, to annoy people. I'm not out to upset anyone. I truly appreciate Steemit as a community, and I'm grateful for all the founders' hard work!"
S2: "I know what you mean. It has been quite gratifying to see Steemians pulling together to help each other out."
S1: "Yes, and in so many ways... Everything from simple favors, to encouraging comments, to organizing fund raisers for people in need."
Isn't it nice to hear fellow Steemians speaking well of the community? Ah, the promise Steemit holds for the future!
S1: "But, here's my dilemma:"
S1: "I have a product that I think - no, scratch that, a product I know would be beneficial to almost everyone in the community. The problem is, I don't know what the "rules," if any, might be about promoting it. I don't want to push it on anyone, but it would be nice if I could at least make folks aware of it."
S2: "Why don't you just ask?"
S1: "Who would I ask?"
S2: "You know, just ask the Steemit community."
Well, that seemed pretty obvious to me; but if I had interrupted, they would have known I was eavesdropping...
S1: "Oh... Yeah... Why didn't I think of that?"
S2: "One of the founders might notice your post and give you a definitive answer?"
S1: "That would be cool."
S2: "Maybe there are already some articles on the topic?"
S1: "That would really be nice. Folks who know could cite some references in their comments."
S2: "Yeah. Then if you figure things out, maybe you won't step on anyone's toes..."
S1: "You're right. I'm glad we had this conversation!"
S2: "You're welcome."
What are friends for, after all! As I watched them take a turn through another router, I prepared to disconnect from the socket. I had what I had come for.
S1: "I think I'll go post my questions right now."
S2: "Good luck! See you later!"
S1: "Thanks again!"
An Unsplash Photo
Photo courtesy of Jonathan Simcoe and http://unsplash.com
Dear Reader,
If you know anything about the whys, wherefores, traditions, and protocols for "commercial speech" here on Steemit, would you be kind enough to respond in the comments with some guidance and references? Thank you, quite sincerely!
FIN
You are why I'm here on Steemit!
I have very eclectic interests and hope, over time, to write about them all.
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