RE: A Radical Idea to a Malignant Problem
Good points here Jason, and I agree with most of it.
The thing that's most alarming about the abuse, and it's been getting worse over the last couple of months (bidbots, self-voting, circle-jerks, comment farming, etc), is the fact that it hasn't been acknowledged by steem inc., @ned or @andarchy in any direct way. It really makes people wonder wtf is going on over there? SMTs lalala... if this abuse is allowed to continue SMTs won't be able to save this sinking ship.
Addressing abuse needs to be a PRIORITY, at the very least it needs to be acknowledged and if Steem inc is not going to do anything about it - ie. let the community deal with it - then that needs to be stated clearly. This has gone on for too long now without any meaningful contribution by the Steem inc.
Laissez-Faire is not going to cut it
I care about this platform just as much as you do and it feels like we're all watching a Steem train-wreck in slow-motion atm.
You said it perfectly. This shit has been going on for too long without those up top even acknowledging the problem. I don't know if it is because there is currently no other competition in the market, but it won't be long before @dan comes along and releases his @eos version. It's funny that he isnt even with steemit anymore and he has been helping out with flagging some of the garbage content. There are enough community oriented users on here to cleanup this place, but the lack of leadership is really hurting the future progress.
I've decided to take a little time away from steemit because this issue just angers me. I've set my autovote for a small percentage in a group I trust and I will post maybe once or twice a week. It is tough to put in an effort when the higher ups don't even seem to care.
ANd I'm saying this as a user with a decent amount of steem. I can't fathom how discouraging it must be as a new user trying to get started here, seeing all this nonsense going on.
As always your support is appreciated, glad you've been diligent in finding and attempting to eradicate some abuse as well.