BEWARE the Trending Page -- Could Be Hazardous to Your Wellbeing

While I’ve been reading the numerous posts about topics like the guilds, @steemsports, @krnl, @ozcharts, @steemvoter etc that have gone on over the last several weeks, I have for the most part been reading and moving on. Not without considering the various arguments, but, just not getting engaged in them.

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I did briefly become engaged over the @steemsports and @steemvoter issue in that I objected to the introduction of the Steemy Games and made my opposition known by stopping my participation in @steemsports and cancelling my account on @steemvoter. My choice, action made, move on.

A post by @ats-david, On Guilds and Managing Expectations caught my eye and I had a look down through it.

It got me to thinking. Not about the post, most of it is a rehash of comments and arguments I’ve already seen.

I noticed that @steemship was the only person who downvoted the post. That’s your right, but really, you presented your arguments well enough in the comments. The downvote just looks petty. That’s my opinion.

What got me thinking is the bigger picture I’m seeing emerge here. I’ll get to that, but first, I want to highlight a couple of things.

Pulling On the Same Rope

In the comments I came across this comment:

@hanshotfirst:

Second, I truly hope that everyone in this conversation is “pulling on the same rope”. I hope we all have the same ultimate goal: for steemit to thrive in the long run. And I mean really thrive. There are many ways to “pull on that rope”. Because this is so new and innovative, we all might not agree as to exactly what is the best method. After all, we don’t have an exact model to follow. Hopefully we are all doing our best to make the best decisions we can about helping the platform to grow.

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I think that we all need to keep this in mind. It is a common mission, even if we don’t always agree on how that needs to be carried out. I see this comment as a call to mutual respect even when we disagree. I think as a community, we need to strive to do this.

That may be one of the reasons I choose to not engage in a lot of these debates as I see them as tugs-of-war which have no real impact on the platform other than giving some users the impression that there is just a big drama show going on.

When someone like @ned or @dantheman posts about these topics, I would hope they do so to get a sense of the feeling of the community while they are working on developing the platform.

Reducing the Toxic Environment

I also took note of this at the start of @ats-david’s post:

The most disappointing aspect of a lot of the issues discussed on Steemit is the near instantaneous reaction to anyone asking questions – and the consequent framing of the discussion as “good” users vs. “bad” users. The attempts of some of the guild members to portray anyone with doubts about the effectiveness of the guilds as “jealous,” “trolls,” and “witch-hunters” is certainly nothing new. However – as I have mentioned several times in the past – this reaction is actually more toxic than the users raising the actual questions.

That’s a very commendable desire @ats-david.

Were you checking the mirror when you wrote it?

Does that mean you will, in the future, stop referring to another group of Steemians as “crusaders” or “content crusaders” or “those people” as I’ve seen you do so often?

Will you stop ascribing anything negative going on on the platform to that same group of people?

I did notice you referring to people who challenged you in the comments as “trolls” so, I guess maybe your desire didn’t apply to you.

That really does add to a toxic environment.

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The Emerging Pattern I See

As I’ve watched these flareups over guilds, @steemsports, @krnl, @ozcharts, @steemvoter etc it seems to be clear to me that while the spoken desire is to ‘make the platform better’, the underlying, unspoken issue is jealousy.

That is such a harsh word, jealousy, but it’s difficult to find another that speaks truth to the matter. Someone, or some group manages to get into the trending page frequently and it’s like some primal need to knock them down comes up in some people.

They object to seeing the frequent presence of whoever happens to be the target of the moment, but assign some other argument to why they object. Then the claws come out and the attacks take place.

Putting Myself in the Place of Others

As I’ve watched this going on, it makes me really grateful my Steemit Ramble doesn’t get much traction and land on the trending page. I’m not sure how I’d feel to find myself under one of those onslaughts because my work had managed to gain traction.

Right now, what is basically my Steemit Journal, sharing with others the posts that I’ve enjoyed and why, gets some votes, makes a little bit and is generally well received. I’m grateful for the encouragement others give me to continue providing the Ramble to the community.

It’s fun to do, even if it does take me several hours at a time to sift through posts and find the ones I like for that edition. From a purely business standpoint, the ROI is pretty small but the satisfaction of doing some giving to the community overrides that.

I can see by the pattern that is emerging here that if the Ramble ever started gracing the trending page, I’d have to make sure my thickest skin was well in place for fear that it would become the next target of those unhappy at not being on the trending page.

Think About This Folks

Think about what you write on a regular basis.

You put a lot of effort into it and are consistent in putting it out there.

Some where along the line you start to attract some attention and start getting voted up a lot.

You hit the trending page, not just once or twice but pretty often.

You’d feel pretty pumped wouldn’t you?

I got into the top twenty posts with my post on the Christmas Hamper program. It was a cool experience.

Now think about how you’d feel if others decided that you don’t add value to the community and started attacking you being there.

You’d feel like you were being punched right in the gut wouldn’t you?

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Walk A Mile In Others Shoes

Maybe, some of us need to stop and think about the impact on those being attacked for making it to the trending page. It’s hurtful.

Instead of putting a bunch of energy into attacking others, maybe just double down your own efforts on posting and community building. You might actually be able to move up into one of those spots for a while.

Food for thought.

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