Path Forger Rundown 001 - Newbie Lessons
What a great week its been.
The Steemit community has been a truly great crowd and I've learnt so much.
I think it'll benefit fellow users for me to give a quick run-down (with links where appropriate) of the more important lessons that I've come across. It can be daunting coming across this information when starting out.
Of course, this is all to the best of my present knowledge so do feel free to correct or expand upon my knowledge and I'll modify accordingly!
Lessons about Etiquette:
- Don't antagonize your fellow Steemians!
Well thankfully I didn't (need to) learn this the hard way but I've seen a few users who did. For as long as you aren't disrespectful, threatening or excessively annoying then you should be fine.
- Diplomacy First - Then Ask for Help
Following up on the previous point, in the event that you come across somebody who treats you unfairly, try to resolve the matter tactfully first. For example, ask them why they feel that you deserved their down-vote. If you establish that s/he is right then offer to clarify or compromise (maybe editing your content to clarify or correct) and patiently request that they reverse their vote.
In the event that you really cannot find agreement then ask a more experienced user to mediate. It may be the case that you still underestimate the gravity of your action - or maybe the fault is more with the other party. The Steemit community by and large is quite helpful and a little reasonableness on both sides should resolve the matter.
- Plagiarism - Don't do it, and 'always' give credit!
Yes I know its easier to share great content, maybe add a short introduction paragraph, and leave it at that.
You might even think that you'll get away with it.
The truth is, you probably won't! There are bots that actively scour the net for similar content.
So always credit the creators of the content that you are linking - and link to the original source.
This is not to say that you cannot make something unique of their work. You could center around a video and proceed to comment upon various points made. Expand upon it with information not included within it. Maybe even a critique - just keep it civil. That is just 'one' way that you can base your article material on the materials of other creators.
- Linking Your Own Steemit Articles in Comments Can be Frowned Upon
While it would certainly be understandable for users to incessantly piggyback off of popular posts to give exposure to their posts, I do not quite see it reasonable that a useful comment followed by a relevant link would attract the ire of folks. Then again I am still learning.
One thing that will definitely help is to make your link subtle.
Doing so is easy enough. Just substitute the square brackets "]" for arrow brackets ">" and pay attention to how things are changing on preview.
By the way, I once posted on [a href="https://steemit.com/"]something related[/a] that I think you'd find interesting.
Which becomes:
By the way, I once posted on something related that I think you'd find interesting.
- Make Every Comment Count
At the moment there is no limit to how many comments a user can make. One can certainly abuse or squander this awesome power if one so chooses but I would recommend against it.
Beside it being obvious that almost nobody is going to vote for a 'me too' or 'follow me' or similar comment - it is comments that 'add' to the content of a post that are best-placed to inspire up-votes.
- On Other Points Like Followers and"Begging"
Pretty much everything on this excellent post by @calamus056.
Only one caveat. If you're small - think thrice about exercising your power to flag - Lest the downvoted person decide that petty retaliation is the way to proceed.
Lessons on Curating:
- Voting Power Erodes With Use
Voting power is limited. If you've weren't aware of this and you have been voting then you should visit: https://steemnow.com/
You may need to put in your username into the slot in the top-right corner.
Do you notice that your voting power is (maybe far) less than 100%?
This is because every time you vote,your 'remaining' voting power is reduced by 2%.
That bar recovers by 20% every day.
In other words, you can sustain up to 11 votes every day... which is not much.
Exception! When a post is 7 days or older then your vote will no longer be considered for reward purposes. You can upvote such posts without affecting your voting power.
- The Purpose of Voting Power:
This brings us to what voting power actually is meant for.
It is 'not' a 'like'.
As you may have noticed there is a LOT of content being generated on this platform every day, and the sad truth is that a lot of it gets overlooked.
Part of the reason is that we users don't know which content is great and which is nothing more than a picture and, if we're lucky, a short paragraph that ties into it somehow.
This is where curators come in with their votes - voting for content that 'deserves attention'.
Obviously, judging from some of the 'hot' and 'trending' posts, quite a lot of users don't understand this (or care) but that is how it appears to be.
Still - this helps to explain the rest of the mechanics surrounding votes.
- Optimal Voting ('First Five' versus '30 Minute Rule')
This is something that every budding curator should know.
A majority of curating rewards are stored within the first 5 votes on any post, with the first having the greatest share. This reflects the value of giving that first signal that a piece of content is worth going through.
However the platform skims a portion of the curation benefit that a vote would have gotten - back towards the post author - if the vote goes through during the first 30 minutes. This is intended to avoid abusive curation practices.
A vote cast at 30 minutes gets 100% of due rewards
A vote cast at 15 minutes gets 50% of due rewards
A vote cast at 1 minute gets maybe 2% of due rewards
Lessons on STEEM/ SBD:
Pretty much everything on this excellent post by @dragosroua.
Phew!
Well these are the lessons that I've learnt thusfar. Many seasoned users will already be familiar with most of the above but I do suspect that one or two new things might be learnt even by users who have been around the STEEM block.
As always I do look forward to feedback and critique. Such will also help me to improve this and other articles in future.
Any sources linked above are the works of their owners - and I feel that they did a great job and paraphrasing would have been a waste. ^_^
Sincerely,
This was fantastic information, Pathforger! Like most newbies, I didn't realize how this all works. I'll be much more careful with my upvotes now :) Cheers
You are very welcome @joshua-pace. :c)
I am glad to hear that this information has proven useful to you. I kind of think that I have a 'lack of visibility' problem so do feel free to let others know that this info exists. ^_^
Well, I am in no hurry to get seen. Steemit is still in it's early stages so am just simply experimenting with different posts. Gets a little frustrating at times when you try to upvote like i did your article and it tells me I am out of steem or bandwitdh exceed limits. What in the heck do they mean by that?? do they only allow you a certain amount of bandwidth...they advertise this as a social media platform but doesn't feel that way to me. I am not normally one that chats on social media with my own family and friends much less people who are here mainly to make money, which BTW takes way too much time for pennies? But I do have a lot to learn and a lot to teach, so this gives me a platform to do it. Also, I love to write, but sharing personal thoughts are hard for me at times as I have always valued my privacy. Thanks again for the help and support!! Gonna try to upvote your post again but not giving me a link to resteem?
Oh... 'that'. :cP
Well the platform is experiencing a temporary issue that affects how much we little fish (and even some bigger fish) use the website.
It apparently depends on how much Steem Power has been allocated but I am also reliably informed that the powers that be have noticed a problem and are looking into fixing it.
As such, I would not worry about bandwidth issues for much longer (platform issues happen once in a while).
Some people treat Steemit like Facebook. This is not ideal in my opinion, for two reasons:
Everything you post is permanent (block-chain technology)
Quality content adds value to the platform - and Facebook style posts don't always do that. Plus they can backfire... and... see the above point. :cP
I don't get concerned about minor issues..just take a break and regfuel my own personal steem power...and voila, when I come back, just like me, all powered up and ready to go a few more miles. Besides, I know you have the best of the best diligently working on issues. You also listen to the members and take action and always let others know whats up. That is why I am glad I got in in the early stages...I am preparing for the future for when our whole monetary system collapses.. one post, one upvote, one comment and one resteem at a time..thanks for your response. We appreciate all your hard work!! MAHALO
BTW..kinda hard to learn the ins and outs and navigation but once learned..blows all other medias out of the water..Besides they are out just to get your money and don't give back..
Hey there @thethreehugs. Thank you for the thoughtful follow up. ^_^
And what a thoughtful follow up it is too. A quick clarification - I checked in on Steemit Chat and thats how I know that the higher-ups were looking into the matter. I am but a humble path forger aspiring to better his future outlook in financials and repute upon this platform. ^_^
And if the monetary system 'does' collapse - then it'll be nice to have more than zero. /:cP
You're welcome by the way. Putting alll this information into one place was also helpful to myself as I grew more familiar with it as I wrote.
And it 'is' nice to see a kind of social media where there exists the potential for payouts. Thank you again for the comments! ^_^
Well said pathforger..thanks for the reminder..
Hey there @thethreehugs. Thank you for the thoughtful follow up. ^_^
And what a thoughtful follow up it is too. A quick clarification - I checked in on Steemit Chat and thats how I know that the higher-ups were looking into the matter. I am but a humble path forger aspiring to better his future outlook in financials and repute upon this platform. ^_^
And if the monetary system 'does' collapse - then it'll be nice to have more than zero. /:cP
You're welcome by the way. Putting alll this information into one place was also helpful to myself as I grew more familiar with it as I wrote.
And it 'is' nice to see a kind of social media where there exists the potential for payouts. Thank you again for the comments! ^_^
The pleasure is mine pathfinder.
Pathfinder (2009) is a roleplaying game that came into existence after the conception of Path Forger (2005). ^_~
Oh! And there is nothing wrong with taking it slow. Different people have different priorities.
What I can say is that Steemit as a 'money making' device is a lot like gardening when you start out with a single seed.
You can put as little or as much effort into gardening, and that seed will bloom and produce more seeds. You'll gradually add diversity to the garden. People may take a peak from over the fence - and they might even take a look around as you naturally attract followers by your unique personal brand (rather than "follow for follow").
Again it comes down to what one wants. If you wish you can simply post and not engage with others much - or you could simply not post and do nothing but comment and curate. These are all ways to proceed. And there is no minimum level of activity.
And once that issue is fixed - you are unlikely to notice a maximum either. :cP
Well said pathforger..thanks for the reminder..
Great information! Hopefully more people will read this and upvote
Thank you blakadder, both for the comment and vote, as well as for the Resteem! ^_^
I must admit that I am presently considering nurturing my followers base - as it seems that having few followers and posting is a little like sending a message in a bottle down the river. ^_^
I am sure that I'll eventually share my learnings there too in the coming weeks. :cP
Useful post. I agree with your point about linking your own articles in comments; if it's useful or relevant, I don't see why not. Cheers!
I am glad to hear that you found this to be useful also @tylersr. :c)
Thank you for the feedback on comments. The one thing that I will add on this matter is that 'subtle' links are less likely to annoy than simple pastes of full links. I'll be modifying the article now.
Thanks for this post! Very helpful indeed!
I am happy to hear that you found this to be helpful @janellepage. :c)
It is my hope to eventually release another post with helpful hints as there is so much to learn - but this isn't a bad starting point. ^_^ Have a great day.
Thank you this was useful, and it answer my question as how many upvotes do i have haha!
I think i might have use them all for today ^^''
Well your voting power is currently around 82% - Not a bad level to set as 'cut off'. :c) It'll take almost 24 hours to get back to 100%.
Of course, its not going to stop you from voting, but your next vote will deduct around 1.6% from your total voting power (2% of your current).
Glad you found this useful. ^_^
Where do you see a person's voting power? Great post, btw, very useful. Newbie here... whoa. I love it.
Thank you @sallyoh for getting in touch - and also for your up-vote on that other topic. :c)
I personally always peruse of https://steemnow.com/ to keep track of my voting power (and also to take a sneak peek at the activity of myself and others (yay for a transparent blockchain)). ^_^
I did a lot of learning in my first week here. I really should consider expanding upon this - but the above is just as relevant today. :c)
Thanks again for stopping by and do let me know should you require advice/ assistance with the ways of Steemit. ^_^
loves this
I am glad that you found this useful. :c)
One day I'll create an updated version but this is a good start.
Hey, great post.
Although most of it is on the FAQ pages, it can be a daunting task going through the entire section and then trying to decide what info is most important.
Even just having some of it said again in your words helps. A great post for newbies like myself, thanks.
Thank you very much for the feedback @muchaloo :c) When I next get inspired to craft an updated version of information such as this I'll cross reference with the FAQs to ensure that I'm not repeating stuff (and sure, I'll also try to improve the wording. ^_^
You're all welcome.
Thanks ever so much for this post. extremely helpful for us newbies.
I am glad that you found it useful. :c) If there is any information that you'd like added in future, do let me know.
I most certainly will!!
Very interesting and informative post,will help a lot of newbies of the platform,as helped me.Thank You.
Glad to hear that this was helpful to you @gambit.coin - you're welcome. :c)
To be informed is to be empowered.
Knowledge is power for both yourself and others that you share this knowledge with.
Thanks so much Pathforger. Learned a great deal and made notes. This is all a lot to take in for a newbie....
You are welcome @juniorshelver. :c) It is a bit much - but then again I did condense my learning over the period of my first week here into one post - so think of it as saving a lot of time finding things out the hard way (and some things aren't obvious). :cP