Yesterday one our fellow witnesses @fubar-bdhr mentioned in steem.chat an article written by Jamie Redman on Bitcoin.com titled "Immutability Questioned After Steemit Blog Bans 9/11 Blackmailer’s Account".

Original article: https://news.bitcoin.com/immutability-questioned-after-steemit-blog-bans-9-11-blackmailers-account/?preview_id=272955

The article names the developer who altered the file to remove @thedarkoverlord for whatever TOS violation. The removal is only actionable on the Steemit frontend and has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the Steem ecosystem.

We all know that nothing can be removed from the processed blocks. That's a fact. Unless it's hardforked out, it's there for good.

It can be said that Steemit.com = Steem back when it launched in Spring of 2016. Now, Steempeak = Steem, Partiko = Steem, Busy = Steem, Esteem = Steem, and countless others. There are more portals than I can list here. ¹

Correction Flagged

I submitted a comment to correct the mistake.

It was somehow "detected as spam" despite myself using a legitimate established Google account to log in and post.

My Comment

Since its still unavailable on the Bitcoin.com article, I will post it here where it safe from censorship.

The Steem Blockchain and Steemit.com are not synonymous. Steemit.com is just one of the many, many portals or websites that are used to access the content stored on the Steem Blockchain. The blockchain itself is "immutable". The account in question can be accessed through the blockchain explorer itself first and foremost (https://steemd.com/@thedark... and through the myriad other portals that exist. The above information is already clarified in that Reddit post.

This being said, Steemit Inc is a corporation that, as all corporations are by the virtue of being corporations, is a centralized entity. It has its own TOS and everything that goes along with that. It maintains blockchain development, runs its frontend, promotes innovative uses for the blockchain, etc. It does not process the blocks (full of information, such as the content of the account in question or the account itself). That is done by "Witnesses", which are decentralized entities from all over the world. Steemit therefore has absolutely nothing to do with the account except not displaying it on one of the many Steem Blockchain portals.

So far, only comments either supporting the narrative are visible. We don't know how many other witnesses submitted corrections to have them unpublished.

Now I'm not a Steemit Inc shill. I'm one of the many witnesses on the blockchain they built and maintain. I don't work for Steemit, I never have and never will. Over the years I got to exchange words online with some of their staff, including @Ned. As a witness, my role is first and foremost to be objective and focus on the blockchain. This is why I'm not too fond of any public misrepresentations that have the potential to adversely impact the Steem blockchain and ecosystem.

Article

No immutability was ever questioned by anyone who has the faintest understanding of what a blockchain is.

The article itself isn't really about @thedarkoverlord or their content. It's not about free speech or censorship. It's about twisting information while willfully ignoring facts and corrections (many corrections were presented by users in the cited Reddit thread) in order to manufacture drama where none exists. (Even the person who originally started the Reddit post realized the difference after reading the responses.)

Singling out a developer in a way that can make him a target is also both irresponsible and dangerous. Developers don't decide what falls within the TOS. They edit code. Discussing the facts of the matter in comments on the blockchain and on social platforms is one thing. When you discuss in a question/answer type environment, you're sharing information. Yes, the file was edited. Yes, here is the Github link.² Publishing an article that will be accepted by the masses as gospel is another matter. But Bitcoin.com isn't real journalism, is it?

Action

Go to https://news.bitcoin.com/immutability-questioned-after-steemit-blog-bans-9-11-blackmailers-account/?preview_id=272955 and comment with your own clarification. Maybe they'll forget to exercise that evil censorship that they're so vehemently against and actually post it.

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¹_{Many people still believe that if something is inaccessible on the Steemit.com frontend it is "censored" because they think most users are using Steemit.com. This is not true. They are projecting their own experience onto others and assuming. While I don't have the numbers, a growing number of users have shifted away since the creation of alternatives. Many, many users are accessing the Steem blockchain on mobile devices and are using mobile apps for that purpose. People from countries where computers are not the norm are primarily on mobile. At the same time, established users are turning to Steempeak and others. Many have already made the switch to Busy long ago.}

²_{A few days ago @joythewanderer published a post asking if censorship took place and what happened. This is the correct way to address an issue; by asking for clarification and talking about it. I responded to that post by explaining that it's just a Github file edit on the Steemit.com frontend. Others offered their comments as well. As you can see, all comments are there and the full scope of the discussion is visible.}

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