RE: Call to bot owners to block top 50 rewarded authors!
The problem isn't the bots or the existence of whales. The problem is much deeper and it is systemic - what can these whales and their bots do with that power?
Well the answer is obvious - they can use it to amass even more power and at a faster rate than those below them. It is a positive feedback loop which is bound to destroy Steem as it would any other community.
In other words, a comunity where "might is right" is the primary law of the land isn't really a community... It can barely be called a society.
It is not the whales fault, they simply do what is required to survive and prosper in the conditions given to them. And if they refuse to do so, someone else will. Yes, natural selection is a bitch.
So the problem lies firmly in the system, the conditions given to those evolutionary units we call "users", the rules of the game they play. And my prime question is, is it possible to change these rules at this late date? I dont know how steem blockchain relly works under the hood and if it is possible to change how upvotes and (especially) flags function vis-a-vis rewards? Because therein lies the crux of the problem. If the answer is no then I don't see any hope for the platform as the rules of the social game set by it are unsustainable for any social system. Can anyone more knowledgeable provide me with an answer to this question?
All the rules of blockchains and social media platforms are the code. Code is infinitely mutable. The code is what it is, however, for reasons. This is the code those that control the top witnesses want, because it is what makes it possible for them to concentrate more and more Steem into their accounts.
The question isn't really 'can the code be changed', but 'why would they want to change it?'.
Well, it is Game Theory again, isn't it?
The old sheep and wolves equation....
At one point the wolves must stop ravaging the sheep otherwise they will be left without food and starve. At the moment, the sheep seem to be willing to come in, but this can change quite rapidly. It would be interesting to see what are the retention rates for the platform.
(btw "sheep and wolves" isn't anything derogatory. Sheep are members of the society who tend towards altruism while wolves tend towards selfishness. Any healthy and stable society needs both in order to survive and progress.)
The system has been gamed for the wolves, from the beginning. Now it is all up to them - either they realize that it is to their best interest to be at least a bit altruistic and so keep the equilibrium or they will self-destruct. In this case history can't help us in our predictions because it can really go either way... Rapa Nui or Byzantium. Who knows? Whatever happens I don't think it will go quietly, without some kind of upheaval or revolution. That is the only historical constant in similar societal cases.