1 simple reason Steemit is a pile of shit and how to change it
The nicest thing I can say about Steemit right now is that it has potential.
The critical things that make Steemit a pile of shit right now is?
People with major voting power giving guidelines that include "not talking about politics"
One of the supposed benefits of the platform is supposed to be censorship resistance but with some of the major voting power giving guidelines that include not talking about politics? Seriously did they forget that censorship resistance isn't important if you want to talk about global warming or feminism?
I've just finished reading this post on Steemit that purports to be trying to encourage users that they might be able to win big votes on Steemit if they write content that follows certain guidelines.
I posted a comment there and it was so long I decided to make it a post. If it doesn't make any money then this site will be dead to me. I'll be sorry to see it's potential wasted on Recipes and Cat pictures.
Here's the comment
This fails to excite or encourage me because your guidelines show an air of the bratty self righteousness of a parent speaking down to his/her children and then complaining their kids are brats. I'm sorry but no political posts?!?!
Seriously you expect mature adults to use this site or children? We can't avoid politics anymore than we can avoid social justice worriers (yep, it's spelled that way on purpose)
Right now politics is the reason YouTube has changed it's terms of service and it's removing anyone that is remotely controversial because they aren't deemed "Advertiser Friendly".
You make this an unfriendly place for the Anarchist types that have the most to gain from a censorship resistant platform and you're just going to shoot yourselves in the foot.
Wake the fuck up and vote this up, because if I don't get some upvotes soon, I'll just be another guy who posted shit on here for a few weeks and gave up on Steemit's potential.
Potential is the nicest thing I can say about this place right now.
Chris Ray Gun is mad, and I was thinking of recommending he post stuff here, but he talks about politics, swears and isn't very "Advertiser Friendly" and posts like this won't make him feel welcome.
This was long enough to be a post so it will be, it'll be my last if this becomes another copyright protecting, politically correct, controversy free zone.
Don't let Steemit die an uncontroversial, politically correct death. If you want to do something about it, vote for controversial content and stop pandering to the PC and copyright police!!!
So, you're just crying because you never get upvotes? Pitiful...
"Wake the fuck up and vote this up, because if I don't get some upvotes soon, I'll just be another guy who posted shit on here for a few weeks and gave up on Steemit's potential."
asshole level: fox news
Maturity level: preschool
post is about political correctness
berniesanders says boohoo you get no votes and turn post into a boo hoo I get no votes post instead of a post about the muting affect of political correctness. this is the type of thing that fox news (and other media outlets) do: take a thing and turn it on its head and make that the story. lucid enough for you?
Yes sorry, I'm still new here. I thought your comment was about my post, not about the lazy efforts of berniesanders to review my post. I should have given him the F not you. Same goes for theconnoiser I think. I have deleted my replies because you are right and my reply was wrong. Thanks for steering me straight.
Your response is to my request for change, not to my claim that Steemit is shit because those with voting power vote for your angry response rather than my reasoned statement of facts.
Steemit is shit because those with power promote people like you (or is it you just promote yourself?). Good luck to you, you deserve the Cat memes and Recipes.
Look at your supporters, they throw 3 or 4 word insults as comments and I'm the one who's supposed to be preschool level lol
Yes it's comments like this that make me ashamed to invite Chris Ray Gun to the steeming pile of shit platform. If you would like to try to be more welcoming and encouraging as I have been to you @berniesanders despite loathing your opinions then You might make this place better for everyone.
i know what you're talking about. This place is a circle jerk.
The big fallacy is that everyone is a content creator. That's bullshit. I'm a content consumer and the content around here sux. I keep checking in but the only community forming here is steemit fanboys and girls.
I don't spend time on reddit reading, talking and learning about reddit. I spend time in news, politics, crypto, ELI5, TIL, etc and quite often the comments are funnier and more illuminating than the post.
I see none of that here.
This pretty much sums it up and explains the 50% decline in usage in one month...
And the idea that professional writers were to be hosted on Steemit is a distant, abandoned illusion.
Then it gets interesting as Dan today posts a call to Revolution...
To build an "illusive utopia" and a "new social structure", etc.
https://steemit.com/philosophy/@dantheman/why-do-we-fight-to-change-the-world
On it's face this is a perfectly decent article of millennial, crypto-anarchist rhetoric...
In a cozy American world where you've never missed a meal and Hitler is a Youtube meme...
And dedicated Islamists with dirty nuclear bombs and mutant viruses can be safely ignored for a few more years.
But the author seems unaware that he recently recreated the Medieval Order on a blockchain...
Where 50 rich Lords rule over large masses of penniless Serfs for all eternity...
In fact, eerily similar to the Hunger Games where Lords dispense lottery rewards to the odd Serf...
Something that can be viewed as "utopia" only by a rich Lord.
Personally, I would prefer a realistic Roadmap and Business Plan (in addition to the call for Revolution).
I really appreciate you took the time to share your feelings. I agree that on it's face dantheman's post seems genuine and also agree he seems unaware how his own ego makes him think that he has reached enlightenment.
dantheman says "Any economic system of voluntary rules and incentives I create will struggle to gain traction unless it is used and operated by enlightened individuals."
Rules dantheman creates may be voluntary for others, but the choices will be follow them or go elsewhere and I'm afraid if some of the "enlightened" whales on Steemit don't start accepting that controversy and debate should be encouraged on this platform they will kill this platform with kindness.
Despite my misgivings about his reasoning I did vote up his post because he took some time to write it and I'm a nice guy.
Thanks again for your support.
Checkout some of my blogs. No circle jerking for me.
right now it's all crypto and art/photography. Which works for me as an artist :)
Yes but that's what a circle jerk is, you make some art, they like your post, they make some art, you like their post, it's a circle jerk!!!
I'm glad to see some like minds here. I'm sorry this place has become so mundane and uninteresting and I appreciate you've upvoted me because it means you want it to change.
My post could be construed as a little controversial, that's the whole point.
If we didn't want controversy we can see Cat Memes and Recipe ideas on Tumblr or Facebook.
true, but for some reason I found this to be pretty entertaining. This is about as close to reddit as I have seen anything else get to be honest.
Yes I agree with you really. As I've said, my words were designed to be controversial and I have to agree that as I write this.
Steemit is absolutely the best shit available and at least I see this place has a chance to move in the direction I'd like. Every other platform is disintegrating into far smellier shit than I've accused Steemit of being .
One of the reasons I left Facebook was , that i couldn't stand the political correctness and the hypocrisy any longer. Now looking into the same tube here, ridiculous, but endorsed by the management , very poor, very bad failure to leave it to short minded geeks and nerds what kind of content is presented.
Its out of control and ranting about it only ever gets you some downvotes by those fuckers. Its always idiots holding back good ideas.
Ignorance is bliss became the motto, so very sad.
Thank you so much for your kind response. It's nice to see I'm not the only one who is tired of the PC police. I couldn't agree more about the hypocrisy here when people like @berniesanders who i've followed and voted for even though I disagree with him comes here and tells me I'm being a cry baby because I said I would leave if this place doesn't change.
Voting for me will prove it has a chance, if you don't vote for me, I won't cry, I will leave. That's the way voluntarism works.
You are free to post political stuff. You just may not get those whale upvotes by doing so.
But reading your post makes it seem like political stuff ahs been banned. No, it hasn't been banned, or censored. Its just valued by these whales, currently.
So, you are free to make a choice: you can either post stuff that gets upvotes, or post stuff that you want to post. You just choose what you value the most.
I'm not sure how or why low rewards would make anyone run back to Facebook, for instance, since IN ADDITION to not paying you anything, Facebook is also pro-censorship, for instance. So, even at its worst, it's still more valuable to post on Steemit, even if you're not getting big rewards.
Also, eventhough I don't agree, you missed out on an obvious pun opportunity: "Why Steem is a Steeming pile of shit."
I mean, it was RIGHT THERE, dude.
Yes it was, but I had my reasons, the picture made you connect the dots :)
Thanks for your reasonable response and not simply attacking me without actually discussing my post as @berniesanders has done.
While I understand that it's not against the rules to post political stuff that's not really my point. My point is that people like @berniesanders would make someone like Chris Ray Gun feel unwelcome and so I'm ashamed to invite him to this platform.
I haven't used Facebook for 4 years and am hardly about to run back.
Rewards are not my goal, open discussion where people feel free to speak there mind without having others jump down their throat, that is my goal.
Post what you like on here , you might be surprised with the results. Some of the biggest paying posts ive seen are not politically correct.
Well, the question is, can someone make reasonable revenue for having 100k followers, or are we completely dependent and whales to earn anything at all? If we are completely dependant on whales then this place is already dead, it never stood a chance.
Well while I agree that those things would make the platform less attractive for me it's not really about the money as much as it's about encouraging controversial posts that don't pander to the PC and copywrite bullies.
Unfortunately it seems that there are a number of groups on here that have made it their mission to jump down the throat of those who say anything controversial.
Without controversy, I agree, this place will die a slow painful death
Thank you, yes at whole 19 cents so far this is my biggest paying post. It's not really about the money but about the support that I feel for those who aren't PC. When I see people like reply here complaining that I am complaining without actually bothering to show they've even read my post I see a real lack of integrity and I feel that unfortunately this represents and majority.
Luckily people like dantheman do make me feel that there is some hope for this place, but at this time it is still just potential. Until this place welcomes controversy with open arms it will just be another failed attempt at free speech.
Seriously, what is the point of censorship resistance if you aren't going to embrace controversy?
and the whales are all unique people. their political views as individuals are probably different than each other. So to get all their votes its best not to offend any of them.
Also that article did not say Whales will not vote on things outside of the guide but as a collective that's their aim. Nothing is stopping an individual whale from voting for anything you write, it's just that particular collective.
I bet many whales vote outside of the collective in that post.
And like he said.... keep at it and eventually you'll have a hit.
Thanks for your encouragement.
I think the point I've tried to make here is that some whales are discouraging and making it an unwelcome place for controversial posts. If you don't believe that then please see the reply to this post from berniesanders.
How can I recommend this place to Chris Ray Gun when that's the kind of response I get for saying something controversial that hurt someones feelings
I understand there are probably a lot of children on this platform but seriously, even children should start to realise if they don't grow up, the adults in the world are going to make hurting someones feeling a crime.
He never posted again. Another new user bites the dust. I liked what you said to him though.
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Thanks linkback-bot. Thanks also to steemdesign for pointing out this problem. The post is very interesting and I'm impressed that dantheman has actually replied and is looking into the practice of downvoting. I suspect that the cencoship whales will be difficult to overcome but I don't worry because if Steemit is NOT censorship resistant something else will come along to replace it.