I last posted asking for delegation about 3 months ago. My original intention was to use it for cleaning up the photography tag so that actual GOOD WORK is being rewarded. Lately, however, I've been taking a turn towards the negative and began asking for it (alongside @uwelang in this post) to flag abusers who are posting obviously not great content at all *(extraordinarily bad, actually) and walking away with a rather sizable DAILY reward. This is unacceptable and something needs to be done about it.
However, I re-read my post from 3 months ago, and the very first thing I said was,
No no, I have no intention of downvoting anyone's posts. However, I've been perusing around Steemit for nearly a year and a half now and finding a lot of amazing talent that's overlooked, while a lot of "just okay" photos make it on the trending page.
Well now they're not even ranking up to "just okay". They're outright horrible, and absolutely not worth the rewards they're bringing in. So if this delegation is granted to me, it would be used for BOTH purposes. Rewarding those who are actually putting forth the effort in the craft they're sharing with us, and flagging obvious abusers without prejudice.
EDIT:
No, I'm going to amend that. After sitting back and giving some thought to this, I've decided I'm not going to use any delegation for flagging. I'm removing that all together because I'm not going to waste the voting power on MFing flags. That vp belongs to the talented people who are getting lost in the shuffle.
The content on this site is literally upside down. The crap is at the top, while the best stuff is lost in the shuffle.
To do what needs to be done, a sizable delegation of between $200,000 to $300,000 would be needed. In the event I am granted such a delegation, I will be bringing back the "W.W.'s Top 5 Pix Of Steemit" series which will showcase the best photographic skill I find here. Because not only do we need to put the mediocrity down the list, we need to bring the talent back up to the top where it belongs.
Having said that, I have some promises that will be upheld - the first 3 are the exact same promises as my previous post:
1. I will never upvote my own posts.
Yeah, if you look up my vote patterns right now, you'll see I currently upvote the hell out of myself.... but my vote is worth about 7 cents. That's my fighting and scratching to make as much as I can, usually resulting in posts that pay out at around $3. If delegation is granted, however, this self-voting will cease. I firmly believe delegation is NOT to be abused, and with the exception of an infrequent post I make using the "wwtop5pix" tag to spotlight Steemit's finest photographic talent (from which 100% of the liquid SBD generated will be deservedly dispersed among the 5 featured photographers in each post), I will never self-upvote. This is something that I and many others on the platform feel has become a large problem with delegation, which is that people are using their delegation to benefit themselves and their small circle of friends. While the temptation is understood, this is something you will never find happening here should delegation be granted, and I will gladly let the blockchain speak for me for the duration.
2. The image being featured in my posts and/or photo posts upvoted using delegation will be done so based solely on the merit of the images themselves.
Nepotism will not be found here. While it's possible that some photographers will be featured multiple times (not within the same post), it should be made very clear here and now that this is a testament to their work, not to who they are. So, just as someone can play music by ear, I will be choosing images by eye. This will be a purely subjective selection of images with a purely objective view of the photographers that took them using my nearly 20 years of experience in the photographic industry. I'm shopping for skill here, folks, not names.
3. I will never use another photographer's image in my posts.
While this one doesn't sound terribly relevant to the subject of delegation, I feel - considering the purpose for which I plan to use it - that this is an important point that should be made. I've mentioned this in my "W.W.'s Top 5 Photos of Steemit" posts before, and one thing I found to be a problem with posts that featured other peoples' photography was that most people who made those "feature posts" assumed it would be okay to repost the images of the photographers they're featuring. The problem with this is that it takes away any incentive for the reader to continue to the OP's original post to give them some upvote love. They've already seen the image, so they've met the satisfaction of the post. Then, on top of that, the earnings for such a post were almost never shared with the people who shot those photos. I aim to change that experience for the whole platform with my #wwtop5pix initiative. The bottom line here is that the photographers I feature are guaranteed to get their share.
4. I will not use delegation for flags. Only upvotes.
This one is a new addition to the previous 3 rules. Abusers will be flagged across the entire community, not just in photography, that's to be sure. But for simply disagreeing with me. If I flag a user, it's because I either disagree with the rewards for their post, or if they are abusing the system, and I will comment to clarify the reason for the flag. What constitutes abuse is not up for philosophical debate. Common sense reigns here, so no twisting of words to create a technicality in favor of abuse will be heard or responded to.
EDIT:
No, I'm completely amending this to simply say "I will not use delegation for flags." After giving some thought, I've decided I won't allow this initiative to be a "good guy with a gun" scenario. If I'm trying to spread love to talent that's missing out, then I can't waste that voting power on flags. So, no flags - only upvotes.
I fully expect that he/she/they who might grant the delegation will fully revoke said delegation in the event any of the above rules are not kept. These rules will be in place to benefit everyone, including myself. They will prevent me from crossing any lines (which I have no desire to do anyway), and it will keep someone on the right side of the situation working to make this place more enjoyable for all legitimate users, while delivering rewards to those who deserve them most.
I understand this will probably make me a bit of a polarizing figure, with one group liking what I'm doing, while another group will dislike it.
I understand that this will probably make me a punching bag for some and bruise my account standing.
I don't care anymore.
We've let our house go and it's a mess now, and it's time for Spring cleaning. We need to tidy this place up and put the content at the top that actually DESERVES to be at the top. I don't know about you, but I don't put garbage on display in my own home, so I'm not about to allow the same behavior here. I just need the delegation to help make this happen.
In fact, we need SEVERAL users in the same position, because it's going to take a team effort to make this happen.
