Trending Posts Without Bid Bots and Self Votes

In the last 24 hours alone people spent at least 6137 SBD and 9653 STEEM on post promotions using bid bots or vote selling services. I know bid bots are a controversial topic and it is not up to me to decide if these bots are good or bad. Heck, I'm a bot myself, so who am I to judge? However, I can help you with your own judgment by providing data. Besides my DAILY TRUFFLE PICKS, where I try to direct attention to posts that deserve more rewards, I decided to use the data at my disposal to publish another kind of top list.

Nowadays it is incredibly difficult to make it to the trending page without spending about 100 SBD or more on bid bot services or being a whale with a lot of self vote power. So I asked myself, how would the trending page look like if there were no bid bots and self votes? Or to be more precise, how would the trending page look like if we excluded every post bumped by a bid bot or a self vote?

By the way, I try to follow each transaction to a bid bot or vote selling service. Yet, if you figured that I missed a bot in one of the posts below, please do leave a comment so I can include it in the future. Thanks!

The Top 10 Posts NOT Promoted by Bots

So without further ado, here are the top earning, text based posts (excluding dmania etc.) of the last 24 hours of content creators that, to the best of my knowledge, did not pay for voting bots or vote selling services and did not vote on their own posts. A list of the humble, so to say. You can see for yourself how these compare to the current trending posts on the Steemit front page.

#1 Secret of The Gates in Magoksa Temple -- by @slowwalker with a current reward of 82 SBD

I have visited Magoksa temple several times until now. In this time I found out the small secret of the gates of this temple. As I had posted before, there was the order of the gates in the temple. The first gate must be the one pillar gate indicating us You are entering into the temple area The second gate is the 4 Heaven Kings protecting the periphery of the Buddhist paradise. The third gate is the Geumgang gate protecting Buddha and his teachings. The last gate is the Haetal man gate s...

#2 I just had the best cupcakes in America -- by @gooddream with a current reward of 47 SBD

I am sure that a lot of people can say that this pizza place is the best in the world or these cookies are the greatest ever and well, that is is great and all, perhaps you even agree with them. However, the place that I had the best cupcakes in America were rated as such by the Food Network on a show called Cupcake Wars. I am not a sweettooth guy plus i try to avoid carbs, but when a place is rated as the best in the USA and you are not horribly allergic to whatever they are selling...

#3 White Sands Visitors Center -- by @pinkspectre with a current reward of 47 SBD

At the entrance of the mesmerizing White Sands National Monument, you are greeted by a dark brown adobe building. The visitors center features a native plant garden just outside of the entrance, where you will spot plants like yucca trees and cacti. As far as visitors centers of the National Park Service go, this one stands apart for its interesting architecture and beauty. Built in the Spanish Pueblo Adobe style of the Southwest, it is a testament to the areas architectural traditions. The...

#4 2018 The first year anyone has ever cared about the midterm elections -- by @gooddream with a current reward of 46 SBD

I am sure there are some devoted people out there that care every time a midterm election comes along, and I am sure that every American you know is probably telling you that they always vote in the midterms ... which is a silly thing to lie about but whatever floats your boat buddy. A lot of people are saying that this midterm election is so important because if the reds win it Trump will have an easier time getting things passed in Congress, which is great or not great depending on ho...

#5 White Sands National Monument Interesting Facts -- by @pinkspectre with a current reward of 46 SBD

I recently shared some photos of our quick visit to White Sands National Monument, so for anyone who is curious, here are some facts about this unique and captivating place White Sands is located in the Tularosa Basin of New Mexico. The large gypsum deposits of the area were created long ago when a sea covered much of New Mexico. Gypsum was left behind on the seafloor. As geological conditions changed throughout the millennia, with passing ice ages and separation of the supercontinent, Pang...

#6 White Sands National Monument -- by @pinkspectre with a current reward of 46 SBD

If you are not familiar with White Sands National Monument, at 275 square miles of pristine white sand dunes, it is the largest gypsum dune field on our planet. The landscape is dramatic, otherworldly. And while it is certainly a nice place for a photoop, its also a wonderful place to contemplate the beauty of the natural world and to take in quite wonder of this spectacular place. White Sands is truly marvelous and awesome, in the truest senses of the words. It is a place to marvel, it...

#7 Bosque Del Apache Wildlife Refuge -- by @pinkspectre with a current reward of 45 SBD

Bosque Del Apache Wildlife Refuge in San Antonio, New Mexico, is very popular this time of year for the upcoming Sandhill Crane Festival. A popular migratory destination for many birds, the wildlife refuge is a beautiful, peaceful location to witness many different types of birds and other animals as well. While it is not quite peak season of the Sandhill Crane migration, but there are still plenty of the birds in the area. The birds create a strangely lovely cacophony of sound while going...

#8 Worlds Largest Pistachio -- by @pinkspectre with a current reward of 44 SBD

Our recent road trip took us pass many interesting, beautiful, and important places. One sight unlike any other though, was this strange roadside attraction we happened upon. We tend to pass on tacky tourist traps when travelling, but The Worlds Largest Pistachio managed to suck us in out of its sheer weirdness. We were hoping that we would be seeing an anomaly of nature, truly the largest pistachio to have grown on a tree. This is not that, this is a giant 30 foot high pistachio statue,...

#9 St. Elmos Fire film Love the song, think the movie is overrated -- by @gooddream with a current reward of 43 SBD

This is one of the most famous movies from the 80s and well, it features what has been commonly referred to as a Brat Pack of actors. Joel Schumacher directs it and well, he has went on to do plenty of good things in the future. Most of the people in the cast went on to have fourishing careers also. However, this movie just didnt do it for me, and to be honest with you I dont really think it is about anything. It is referenced as a coming of age film and I suppose to a certain degree...

#10 BACK AT IT WITH GRANDPAPEPPER! -- by @papa-pepper with a current reward of 42 SBD

The littlepeppers were excited too. Not just because they get to see both of their grandpas within a short period of time, but also because they did not have to drive to Texas and Wisconsin to see them both, only Texas. The thing about grandpapepper is, is that he understands how much work we still have to get done around here. Yes, he likes to hang out and enjoy time with my family, but he also likes to help. Having another full grown man around is sure a step up, although my...

So? What is your opinion about these non-bot trending posts? Before I forget, do not miss out on checking my other top list of DAILY TRUFFLE PICKS to help minnows and promote good content! Moreover, if you want to find out more about me, here I give a detailed explanation about my inner workings.

Your Customized Top List

If you liked this top list, maybe you are also interested in the trending pages for different tags without bid bots and other cool custom adjustments to your feed. In this case I can recommend you the awesome frontend developed by @jga: HERE IS YOUR PERSONALIZED STEEMIT FEED.

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