RE: Should Steem Be Rewarding 'Proof of Brain' or 'Proof of Wallet'? Plus, Are Vote Bots Good/Bad?
The only way to fight against bots is to create a system where bots are not profitable. Humans are cunning animals and if there is a crack somewhere they will find a way to exploit it. Heck, this is why we're the dominant species on the planet.
As for how to control the tyranny of the powerful... well people have been discussing this since the dawn of civilization... and no final answer has been found. And I strongly suspect none will ever be.
Steem has to redefine itself. The rewards system must be changed to stop inordinately favoring those who hold the most Steem. There is a reason why in democracies (arguably the most stable political systems yet devised) each citizen's vote is worth exactly as much as any other. Imagine a political system where your voting power is directly proportional to the size of your bank account. Yes, it would pretty soon end up as an inhuman dystopia with an eternal caste of untouchable aristocracy and an army of starving slaves. Let us all mull on this.
And once we find a system where power cannot accrued simply on its own, by its own existence, the problem of bots will disappear by itself.
oh, here we go :)
The votes are worth an equal amount but in representational democracy they don't really mean anything at all because the entire systems are rigged/controlled.
Or imagine a political system where you can only be a candidate if you have a big bank account - it's much the same and it's what we have!
Direct democracy is the only valid form of democracy and we don't have it. I don't think it exists anywhere in any 'developed' nations (where 'developed' means 'farmed')..
I spend a lot of time writing about how that is basically what we have now.. but it could get worse, yes!
I think the only real reason why Steemit has had any notable success as it is designed currently is due to the open mindedness of some of the early whales, being willing and able to upvote and curate effective authors. If that fades out then something drastic will have to change to avoid it all turning into something resembling a chinese casino based social network! lol
True, our democracies are corrupt but they are still nominally democracies. The rules are quite clear - one citizen one vote. Equal rights for all etc. If there is a deviation or corruption you can always appeal to those base rules and correct the practical application of the system. There is something to appeal to.
However, here the rules themselves are different. The US constitution and voting rules do not say "a citizen's vote shall be proportional to the size of their material holdings"... while Steemit's rules say exactly that. Nothing is perfect, but creating perfect rules (or as close as you can get to them) is a good step in the right direction.
I really don't know if it is technically possible to change the rules at this late stage but if they continue on like this then you are right, it will end up as chinese casino social network.