STEEMIT.INC banned @thedarkoverlord from STEEMIT // Good call or did @NED just make another whoopsy?
Apparently, a week or so ago a well known hacker group created an account on the Steem blockchain. Now, i cant say i know exactly who these guys are since i wouldnt call myself "underground" nor would i say im extreme in my position towards the government.
The way i saw these guys was very simple....
They want to say/share some things some people very deeply disagree with.
A very simplistic view ofc.
I did read some of the claims made in the posts by the TheDarkOverlord account to see what was going on and i have to say that it seems that they are essentially holding ransom some sensitive info on the 9/11 events.
In total, the group seeks $2 million to either be voluntarily silent or release the documents to the public.
Personally, i think thats a shitty thing to do...
If they said: "We will release it once we get our $2 mil.",
I would say: "Great, go get your money."
Them going either way, release the info or stay quiet depending on who pays, im not a fan of.. I always hold in higher regard people that actually believe in some cause, then those that will do anything for the money.. Thats just my opinion on the situation, but whatever, who cares... haha
With all that said.
- They can still use any other front end.
- They will still be associated with STEEM (and thus with Steemit.inc) regardless of not being able to post through the Steemit interface.
What is actually achieved? Not much. Well, actually something has been achieved for sure.
Steemit.inc just picked up the censorship sticker and smacked it right on STEEMs forehead.
Yeah i know there are third party applications and the blockchain "remembers", but we already established that the crypto space at large thinks STEEMIT and STEEM are the same thing.
Meaning that Steemit.inc decision might hurt the image of STEEM as being censorship free.
In the crypto space, CENSORSHIP is a 4-letter word. (even though the content was only censored on Steemit and not on the STEEM blockchain.)
So what do you guys think? Was this a good move from Steemit.inc?
I obviously dont agree with the M.O. of the hacker group and from what ive read about them online they even seem to hack personal computers as well, and encrypt the data to extort money from the victim, which clearly is a criminal offense. (i cant verify if that is true or not)
You can read a bit more on CCN about the situation, Link: https://www.ccn.com/bitcoin-ransom-9-11-papers-hacker-group-banned-from-steemit-platform/
... Notice the last sentence of the article...
"Complete alternatives to Steem exist. Minds.com has a growing userbase and allows anyone to boost their content using its tokens."
The slippery slope here being: "When do you draw the line on banning someone if you dont agree with this ban?"
Do we draw the line at TheDarkOverlord or do we draw the line at ISIS?
I think this is a topic that needs more discussion since the strengths of the Steem blockchain can be used by many of those that have for years been hiding in the Dark-web, regardless of who @ned bans or doesnt ban.... And that is a scary thought..
Keep on Steeming and ill see you around.
I think that was a reckless more by steemit Inc
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CoinBase will be de-listing cryptocurrencies that harbor people that attack the US Government. We wouldn't have a snowball's chance in hell to get STEEM listed on CoinBase if people like this use STEEM as a safe haven for criminal activity.
By the way, free speech and criminal activity are two different things unless you live in North Korea.
Sure. I can see that side of it. But getting banned from steemit has nothing to do with Steem, except in the perception of the outside world.. They can continue using the blockchain. My point is that there is no way to stop them from doing so.
Steem users supporting these hackers are intellectually severely deficient, that is a fact, but at the same time theres really no way to keep them off the chain.
Thats the dangerous thing.
Say, youre against this ban... If you dont draw the line at criminal activity (like in this case), when do you draw the line and who makes that choice?
I hadn't heard this about Coinbase, and I can't find anything on it online. But if free speech is to be sacrificed for financial gain, I'd rather take the free speech.
Well..., you do know you have ultimate free speech as long as there is nobody around to listen. That is the effect of what can happen to STEEM if it is prevented from listing on exchanges or gets delisted from exchanges. People will move on to something else. Steemit Inc won't have enough money to pay for their servers. Eventually you can say what you want because there will be nobody to read your blogs. If it is severe enough, the front ends will go away and you won't be able to blog at all using STEEM.
Free speech doesn't pay the bills.
I don't suspect that TheDarkOverlord will be volunteering to cover those bills given that I suspect that criminals are not all that generous. Their ransom won't even cover the operating costs.
I don't agree with what they were doing but silencing them helps nobody.
That is a bad move in my opinion. I don't like what the "Dark Overlord" is doing, as I'm not a fan of extortion. It's not Wikileaks. If they're willing to do this kind of thing, why would I trust anything they say or produce? BUT I don't think censorship is the answer. People should be free to look at what the "Dark Overlord" group is doing and speak out against it if they disagree with it. This action sends out the message that Steemit is not a place for free speech.
I agree to an extent. The problem is that these hackers are criminals. When do you draw the line and say, its ok to ban?
To me this seems like a no win scenario for Steemit.inc. If they dont ban, they are harboring criminals (as @socky said above, that could hurt our chances with Coinbase). If they do ban, they are censoring.
Both is true. And both has financial consequences. Im middle ground on this. Either choice for me is the right and wrong at the same time depending on the point of view.
I think the most important question here is: "When is it ok to ban and who makes that choice?".
If we wont draw the line at criminal activity (if this is criminal activity) like in this case, do we draw the line at pedophilia?, calls to violence?, ISIS?
Who makes the call?
You make some very good points here. I think the answer is for Steemit Inc to be clear on their reasons for banning, so that we know what the guidelines are.
Banning criminals in order to stop them proceding with actual crimes seems reasonable. If there is or has been criminal activity within a government that needs to be exposed, that could make it a grey area... which criminals do you side with?
I agree that the most important question is: "When is it OK to ban, and who makes that choice?" We need clarity on this issue from Steemit Inc.
Yeah. I can agree there. If they werent suspected criminals and were akin to wikileaks id side with them. Reading about their previous actions (though that can always be fake news) points in another direction.
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Steemit is done and Minds.com is a joke. Read their Terms. You cannot Boost many types of content. Bill Ottman is fake and brings nothing to the world.
Thank you for you input.
By the way, Minds bans accounts daily and states in the privacy policy they'll give your info to third parties, without telling you who they are and that they declare the legality of content through their own subjective lense, rather than the actual intent of the law.
Ive heard Minds is many times worse then Steemit with their banning. Steemit has only banned i think 5-6 accounts in total. And some were serious offenses.