OkAY nOw, LeT uS GeT tHiS oVeR wItH... To bOt Or NoT tO bOt?
(Reposted for the correct tag placement)
To Bot Or Not To Bot, That Is The Question.
Okay okay, so I am new. I admit it- I don't know squat.... but it is truly fascinating! What we are witnessing here is an epic battle of the little guy vs the bigger guys, the overlords over the minions, this is some real David and Goliath biblical stuff happening here!
I'm taking a big risk to even dare opine, as I may step on some sensitive toes, offend the perpetually offended, rock the boat, or just become some kind of collateral damage, or accidental victim in this war.
As far as I can tell, from what I've gathered reading the posts and comment sections regarding Steemit, and its future... the Bots are both killing Steemit, and saving it! Bots have no emotions, they are cold unfeeling things who don't think before they act. They just perform the function they were programmed to perform.
Flags, on the other hand, are extremely emotional. Explosive even. They can be downright mean and abusive! They don't even give you flowers after... they beat you to a pulp until you are dead and gone. DEAD AND BROKE.
That's where the Bots come in. The bottom dwelling Plankton (me) are swimming around, mostly uphill... but barely can a whale voter be found, if at all, to curate the plankton with care.
The bots came and took the whales away- for more profit was to be had to delegate it there.
The plankton (me) had wondered to herself, what is all this talk about the bots around here? So I swam and swam through a sea of posts, almost in despair, and then I found the post with the link to the golden goose!
What did I find?
What a secret to behold! Oh, how I wish I had known two weeks ago, I'd already be counting my piles and piles of money! Ka ching!!
Intermission (Music Break) Smoke if you got 'em!
They don't make music like that nowadays. Good stuff. Okay so where were we... oh yes, the golden goose. I found it! Whoomp there is is!
So I fumbled my way through it, just enough to where I thought, I'll give it a shot, see what happens. I put in maybe five Steem dollars, or seven? I got almost double what I put in back! WOW!!! (Disclaimer: I am still not sure yet exactly what comes back to me once all the various takes and claims, curation payouts and delegation fees, or any other such hidden or unforeseen cuts that come into play before all is said and done. Keeping in mind that I am extremely new and not aware of all the facts or the inner workings of Steemit, bid bots, or really- anything. lol)
Okay so something about me... oooh, oooh!! I just got a brilliant idea! I had been thinking about doing an "introduce yourself" post, but being my naturally shy introverted self, I kept talking my self out of it thinking no one would want to hear about or read about silly, boring ol' me...
I am a sort of whistle-blower in my former life, an experience that I can't even tell you about fully... the injustice of it all, the corruption of the system itself, and the cowardice of the people who were conditioned to comply and who learned long ago that if they wanted to keep their job and their paycheck, they would keep their head down and their mouths shut.
It doesn't matter how worthy or how just the cause- when backed against a wall, and when you have family or a home and debt on the line, you will find no friends or defenders among them. You may be lucky to find one or two brave souls, but then you will have the added guilt of bringing in an innocent party into the mix, and into a battle that you know they can't win. I had defended a worthy employee, a plankton going straight to whale, if you will, right into a battle that couldn't be won, because you see, it is not the most worthy opponent or the most worthy cause that wins the day, it is the opponent or the cause that hath the most whales in their corner that wins the day. How naive I was.
The whale delegated bots have started a war with the dolphins and orcas. Or.... is it the whales have started a war against the delegated dolphins, orca's, and minnows? One hundred percent disclosure folks, I definitely do not know what in the hell I am talking about! Most of my experience here has been trial and error. Like you know, no one told me that removing likes hurts you, and liking something over 7 days old hurts you, and liking your friends posts, or your favorite posters posts, or all the comments you get in the comment section? oh yes... all of that, every single little bit eats up your potential daily profit.
I conflict between wanting to do the right thing, and wanting to figure this shite out for myself, and to hell with everyone else! Seriously though... if they refuse to dig deeper and explore steemit in its entirety- then maybe they deserve what they get? I know that sounds harsh- but there are many here who have a gigantic following from elsewhere, and they post here with maybe 20 dollars at the most payout. If they have 4000 followers, then should they be bidding the bid bots at all? I should hope not. I've not yet looked at the wallets of the people that may be excellent examples of this... admittedly because it is quite subjective, and they may show neither good nor bad results. I guess what I am saying is...
WHY ARE THE SUPER RICH SUPER FOLLOWED SUPER POPULAR people using the bots, and DO THE GIGANTIC WHALES NOT FEEL A SLIVER OF GUILT THAT THEY ARE ALLOWING BOTS TO UPVOTE rather than they, themselves, actually CURATE?
Okay, I'm going to be brutally honest and also self deprecating at the same time... oh my lord people, yes just do the bots. The bots are where its at. That may change later, but if you want an honest opinion and some kind of clarity when it comes to the posts of everyone on your feed with not more than .25 cents to speak of, vs the people with hundreds of dollars every post they make. Is this post worth 150$ dollars? Hell no! However, I did invest half of that into promoting this post with hopes of getting new followers and exposure.
GET the BOTS. Enough said. And for all you ethically and morally self righteous whales out there? Come up with some better alternatives and solutions. We need the best, most brilliant minds working and debating on this, and we need input from all of the fish, from plankton and minnows, dolphins and whales...
I'll say this once as well. I have selected people from both sides of the issue to be witnesses. I find it especially entertaining since I chose each one on its own merits.
In other words, I believe both sides make excellent arguments. What I would ask of each and all of you though, is to open the discussion up to all, especially to those who may be quite lost. You would be surprised what pops out of their mouth sometimes...
Never forget...
This is a story of epic proportions, and the struggle is real
The Bots came in and solved a problem that no other Steemian could or will,
The bottom dwelling Plankton (like me) are left swimming around, mostly uphill...
but barely can a whale vote be found, if at all, to curate the plankton with care.
The bots came and took the whales away- for more profit was to be had to delegate it there.
The plankton and dolphins, minnows and orcas said to the whales that they'd rue the day they took their whale votes away
The delegating whales have scoffed and said, you are quite small and not a big fish at all
Who are you to judge and to have a say?
The defiant dolphin said "this is a war, and a war calls for flags!"
here a flag there a flag everywhere a flag flag...
You've not listened even a little, not even at all, and for that you will have to pay
The whale said to the defiant dolphin, "you will not have victory this day!"
"trusted" flaggers, declare in a defiant tone, every post you make,
Every breath you take, every move you make, we will be watching you
the trending posts shall henceforth be known as "the dead zone", so prepare to meet your fate,
the bot boosted posts will get no sympathy and no weight,
not one remark, nor reaction
not with love nor with hate
Shall the flaggers indicate.
Hello Steemians! Loving it here!
I love posting about politics, current events and truth, cryptocurrency and alternative news... I'm definitely not politically correct, and I love to debate! If you liked this post, please upvote, comment and share! Thanks!!
I see your points - and yours would qualify as a "quality post" - but people who make and run voting bots do it for the profit. Either that comes from YOU or the reward pool......Do you really believe that this post is worth around $150 before creation?! I don't. Sorry - this is a great post, as I said, but the rewards are not realistic, to me......I can't blame you for wanting a slice of the nice big pie that everyone else is gobbling into so greedily but what is steemit going to become is the question? Peace :)
Hmm, maybe we should also look at how some of the content has evolved on older soc. media like Youtube. Are the 'likes' on Youtube realistic for some of the content on there!? It's a mix of the sensational and information, but that's the diversity or current status of the platform.
I think a lot of the content on Youtube in some ways has got more competitive and therefore smarter. But they keep feeding a certain audience.
Just as with bots there are ways on Youtube for those trying to win that initial audience, to 'acquire' likes and hits just be resubbing etc, but i think for serious content providers... determination prevails and allows them to make the content they really want to. In other words: getting a following needs work you can't just get rewarded for writing quality content from the word go. That's a community and you can buy your way in to most communities. Not always ideal but unavoidable, that's life i guess. Just thoughts...
Is there a possibility of making two trending pages, one with an organic only trending, or a limited amount of bid bots used, and another trending page with no limits on the bot? That way it would give the reader some control on which trending page to personally support and read, upvote or share, and vice versa?
no, of course not :) I invested half of that 150$ into the post and doubled my money. i think? lol i wont know until the final payout. Ive invested in steem, promoted my post to get it to trend and i did accomplish that... and got lots of new followers and new people to follow.
but yeah, it really makes you wonder... is this sustainable long term?
new perspectives. https://steemit.com/steemit/@miss-j/do-all-bidbots-actually-make-you-lose-money-why-are-50-50-payouts-not-paid-in-50-sbd-50-sbd-worth-of-steem
Amazing post ... Thanks @miss-j for sharing
Yes, that was a big post with an excellent selection of smiles) Ok, the idea was to promote this post to get some followers, right? Well, ok here I am, I read it all, and followed you without any doubts @miss-j ) Wish you big luck on steemit and hope to see you soon in the dolphin's area )
Hahahaha.... I really love this... We have a battle on our hands to rise....
But challenge accepted.
I don't see any wrong with using bots as long as they're not being abused. Bots are the product and technology and technology was made to improve the quality of our lives. We should stick to that purpose.
agreed!
you can say these are afeelinf that we can pass to other without any hesitation
Wow, what an entrance! I'm just getting started and learning about this whole new world of blockchain and cryptocurrency and finding out about bots.
At the end of the day though....it still comes down to human thoughts, words, actions and decisions
It's good to have intelligent banter, it's good to have technology that supports our activities, but most importantly it's just great to have common sense and practice good manners Lol.
To those who are willing, I can see this raising the game for us all....for others...well I guess time or evolution will eventually work it's magic.
Cheers @miss-j
Have a steeming good time
Welcome, @kchitrah! I just read your introduction post, it was a good read! Like you, i am fascinated with Steemit, and all its possibilities. 🤗
I am new and trying to navigate my way around here as successfully as possible. Thank you for your post @miss-j, it motivated me and gave me a little perspective to concider.
I have the same question that you jijijiji bot or not bot... because i thinking that the values of myself is all that i do or my principles... the rules whit you play in the life... i dont need a police alongside for i respect the law... but... its the best decision no use bots?