RE: Are there "rules" on Steemit?
There are some rules and while it is extremely open and free there has been at least one case I'm aware of where someone's content was pulled down and censored because it was illegal. It involved child porn, so it is possible to censor people if they do something extremely horrible, you just need a super majority of the top 20 witnesses which I think is 17 out 20.
But.. For the most part the community polices itself, if people are doing wrong other people in the community will point it out or try to use flags if they can, so.. Generally you can do whatever you want for the most part as long as it's not extremely illegal! Though, just like in the real world if you go disrespecting certain people they might take issue with you, so.. You're much more likely to get some other general users trying to intervene as opposed to the top 20 witnesses or steemit inc.
I have an unnatural want to understand things extremely deeply so here are the "rules"... The "rules" that we all must abide by on this platform are outlined, and they constitute "terms of service" (tos) within the steemit tos we agree by using the platform to be subject to the "rules" of JAMS https://www.jamsadr.com/jamsfoundation/ and any escalated (legal) dispute will be heard in courts (filed only in the state and federal courts located in New York County) - this of course is not a common scenario (as far as I can tell) and most disputes (if any) will be resolved by "whitnesses". In terms of steemit inc having the ability to censor content that does not strictly break a "law", this is clearly possible and can be done with no reason expressed or otherwise, meaning that if pressure was placed on steemit to say censor "news" regarding a geopolitical event than steemit would have absolute power to revoke access to steemit for any reason it saw fit. The general idea is to have witnesses take care of disputes, and if witnesses make an "error" of judgement, this would again be resolved by arbitration by JAMS and failing that the courts of NY county. The issue that arises on any social media platform (especially one set up like steemit) is who decides to intervene and regarding what content. FB for example has a very pro western approach to content censorship, as will steemit in time. Do I see a more "free" platform here, no. In fact I see the exact same degree of ability of censorship as with any other social media platform owned and operated by a US corporation. Is this a big deal, no not yet. And it may possibly emerge as a more "free" platform. It is of course too early to determine whether or not it will.
ALSO to quote steemit:
"Is there an Etiquette Guide for Steemit?
There are no official rules for participating on steemit.com, but one of the users @thecryptofiend has created an Etiquette Guide for the community. While it is not required to follow the suggestions in the guide, they are standards that many users in the community choose to follow."
Some resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JAMS_(organization)
https://www.jamsadr.com/principal-benefactors
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_County_Court
As I mentioned before it takes a super majority of top 20 witnesses which is like 17 out of 20, these people are accountable to the community and voted in like politicians. If they abuse their power they can be voted out. Show me another major social media like Facebook or instagram or twitter that does that?
Every time I got censored it was likely some random anonymous employee. Not 17 out of 20 votes from an elected community with names and faces who can be held accountable.
You say it's not more free. I disagree. I've never been censored here and I've been censored countless times elsewhere. I have pragmatic experiental knowledge that tells me it is much more free.
This place was created by a Ron Paul liberty type and designed to be more free than it's mainstream competitors which it is. Will it always be? Maybe, maybe not and it's not perfect either. But it's a good step in the right direction which has been my argument since the beginning.
Voted in like politicians lol :P Time will tell brother. Either way happy to be here for now. Hope you are well!
Heh. I actually found out that Steemit inc can bypass the votes of witnesses which seems really uhh.. Not good in my opinion. However, I still don't see anything better yet and will continue to use this until something does a better job and may continue to use it even after something else comes along as long as there's still value and a community here.
Glad to here you're happy to be here, though I see you haven't posted in a while. I wonder if you lost faith in steem again or if you're just dealing with a lot in your personal life? I hope things are going alright for you! Much love bud.