And once again, you're having a $80 post about how useful the experiment is. It's both hilarious and sad. Hilarious because it's so obvious this is just a gang war. Sad because this is obvious this is just a gang war.
In a few weeks from now, your $80 posts will draw the attention of another cartel, which will start their own experiment in which you will most likely lose some reputation as well, because you'll be their main target.
The first target of this stupid, childish and greedy behavior was @krnl. So now, every few months they will rotate another kernel on the platform: raise him from nothing, witness his growth as he is endorsing them and then burrying him once he's not useful anymore.
I'm really happy I don't have to witness this anymore. My witness and seed nodes are mining Monero and Ethereum now. Way less profitable than supporting Steem, but also more rewarding, in a subtle and more important way. Sleeping much better also.
Good luck with your PR! :)
After you pointed that out the last time, the post you pointed out was voted down to 0.00 before the payment window cleared. My other post on the topic which had a high payout, was also voted down to 18. (Still high compared to a lot of posts, but not excessive.)
I don't know what will happen with this post before it ends, but I really don't care.
I realize that it makes it look like I have a bias opinion, and it is hard to prove that is not the case, but I really do support the experiment because I believe it is the best thing for the platform.
I like @krnel, frequently upvote + comment on his posts, and did not support the targeting that happened to him. I told him this publicly though (on the blockchain) that I believed the reason that he got targeted was because he himself did the same thing to other users first. I was pretty sure that what was happening to him was revenge flagging.
I suppose that by supporting @smooth and @abit, that even though I am not flagging myself - it puts me in their 'camp'. If people want to revenge flag over that I suppose I am going to have to deal with that. If people want to flag me over other reasons (such as my posts making too much money) I will have to deal with that as well.
I posted my views on flagging here and those really are my views. I've been flagged a ton of times, and I've never had an issue with it. I'm still friends with most of the people that flagged me. Life moves on.
Anyway, as I said in this specific post that you are commenting on (not sure if you took the time to read it) - I do not dismiss the concerns of the people that are against the experiment. I realize that the flagging is taking a toll on the users, and that part of it is really bad for moral. If there was a better solution in front of me, I would support it in a heartbeat. Nobody has come up with one though (that I've seen, which will actually work) - so until then I support this plan.
I read the article before commenting, I always do.
This "experiment" and the targeting of users like @krnl are not separate incidents. They're just symptoms of a more profound undercurrent, a symptom of the "crab mentality" culture. This is so pervasive that it has become the norm, to such an extent that nobody thinks there are other solutions. Makes me feel like in my childhood: I grew up in a communist country, under the dictatorship of Ceausescu and everybody was acting like "there's nothing to be done". There is. It's always something to be done.
It's ironic to witness communities with a strong communist penchant, 27 years after the fall of Ceausescu regime. And where? In the US! And running on what? On the blockchain!
Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get next :)