I feel quite fortunate that I have no interest in such services, as I would certainly be blacklisted from them. At least you, unlike @fulltimegeek, were provided a refund. @markymark literally sent ftg's refund to @null. 60 Steem thrown away in front of his eyes, and instigating the ongoing flagwar between they, and somehow bernie, who, as usual, is lashing out and spreading the drama to the rest of us, or at least myself, now.

I am not much concerned about the effect this will have on me personally. I use no votebots, or any such services, so not being availed of them is no insult to me. I don't use Steem as money, so there's no financial impact on me from the flags, and reputation is nothing more than something you can buy from bots as well, so that number being harmed doesn't concern me either. My actual reputation is the expectations and knowledge of my words that those who've read them know. Flaggots can't affect that.

While these petty machinations can raise your ire, they cannot be allowed to drive you from Steem itself, because that is not just a votebot playground, it's becoming something else: a platform for indelibly storing data, including our words, transactions, and references. In a world fraught with censorship, deplatforming, demonetization, and much more, and worse, such as what is happening to Julian Assange today, do not let petty parasites cause you to abandon the mechanism itself, just because they impact it.

They don't own it. If you have an account here, you have an ownership interest just like they do. Don't use their services. Don't comment on their blogs, and etc., unless you are unafraid of their flags. I am unafraid of their flags, and immune from any other sanctions they can effect. You can be too.

I recommend you do, and do you, the way you want to.

This Steem blockchain is your possession too, if you own Steem. Don't be driven to abandon your equity by clever demoralizing tricks.