There are several people I follow that are complaining their followers are leaving. I think, and so do some of them, that the combination of voting bots and the platforms themselves, are voting for bad content that then ends up dominating the trending-trash page. This means that content creators aren't happy because they can't compete with $200 up votes, and media consumers aren't happy because we can only watch/read so many cheerleaders promoting the platform, ..before we go back to watching a YT video. Add to this some whales with multiple bots that can (and do) totally cripple accounts they don't like, and you are bound to find bad blood. This is the soap opera that we are experiencing right now and for some it's easier to simply go elsewhere.
Thank you for your reply. It is always a bad sign if followers start to leave despite great content. I agree there is a lot to be worked on at steemit and especially people who are able to ask the right questions should be celebrated instead of taken down. We are creating a culture here which is very interesting to see. But so many questions need te be asked and figured out. For example: how much power should one person have? What will we do if a very powerfull person loses his temper and does things we could consider unethical (for example: Is flagging multiple blogs in one account unethical if it is done for revenge?) A smaller account the majority will be able to handle or counteract. Also we have to think about the different cultures blending together here and how about differences in education?
Yeah, all good points. There will always be differences, but even in the real world we usually don't allow the rich to burn down the poor simply because they can. What is worse, the rich hide their true identity and can do so in several ways. Someone can register a business in another country and have it managed by a lawyer. That business owner can now get a Steemit account, but not be traced because any inquiry ends up at the lawyer's office who is bound by attorney/client privilege and can not reveal the ownership of the company that owns the account. This means they can do what they want and have as many accounts as they want. One way to solve this, and the same is true for YT, is to disallow anonymous accounts; this would level the playing field considerably as account holders would have a personal stake they can't get rid of. The reason a whale came after me is because I pointed this out by suggesting he attach his real name to his activities like I do. As you saw; he wasn't too happy. Your point on cultural differences is well taken, especially where that concerns language barriers. Eventually part of the community will split off, and some groups will be isolated by language.
I have actually been wondering if our Dutch directness has played a role.... In our culture it is normal to point out weakenesses in order to create something as good as possible as efficient as possible. Doing this is building actively about a togetherness and protecting our intergrity as a group (in this case the steemit community). Especially if somebody has more power and has an ability to make or brake we see it as our duty. I don't think this is as normal in all cultures as in ours. I think you tried to do something good for the community as a whole while the whale saw it as an attack and you have been punished for it rather hard. I could be wrong ofcourse but this is my outsider perspective while being in the dutch culture.
If this is true and we punish people for doing stuff thats normal within there culture we are without knowing abusing power. Because than "You should have/could have known" is no longer acceptable. I have no answers about this (yet) but I think it is something we have to think about.
I think I am against having to use your own name. For some people it is very important to use an alias to protect themselves against for example their government or stalkers or other ill-willing people. I do get your point and I do see what problems it would solve but I am afraid it would also exclude people who are vulnerable in real life and would really benefit from making money here. I do not say it should stay the way it is. I think I don't know enough about this and how we could protect everybody while making sure everybody is legit.