Today I show you how to write awesome comments that will probably get you upvotes and followers!
About "Steem School": This is something I am doing to spread the knowledge that I gathered here after publishing 2 posts per day for 100 days in a row and studying Steem for 10-20 minutes per day.
I always say to share what you have learned with other people to repay the support they have given you to climb the ranks.
Special thanks to these supporters & friends: @Hopehuggs, @Humanearl, @DawnSheRee, @Eonwarped, @HeimInDanger & @Snook. Without you guys, I wouldn't be where I am today!
Also: I would like to hear feedback from you guys to improve Steem School! Let's get started with today's topic!
How to Write Epic Comments!
Writings good comments that have a high chance of getting upvoted is easy but it takes sometimes!
First of all, you have to read the whole article & only then you should start writing your comment.
You have to relate to the post, nobody likes to read generalized comments on his posts! Do that by taking some sentences of the post and answer them for example!
Or share your opinion about the post (don't disagree with the author, almost nobody gives you upvotes for that!).
Write about 3-4 lines and use markdown aka use bold on certain highlights of your post! Add pictures, videos or gifs to your comment to make it stand out even more!
Now you have written a comment related to the post that is not short, you highlighted important words or sentences and you added videos, gifs or pictures to your content.
You also didn't disagree with the author and you didn't write anything offensive. Such a comment will probably gain you some followers and upvotes!
In a Nutshell:
1. At least 3-4 lines
2. Relate to the post
3. Use Markdown
4. Add pictures, gifs or videos related to the article & combine it with an epic comment
5. Don't disagree with the author and do not be offensive
What is Markdown? -> Click HERE to read a Markdown guide.
Don't Do This!
Don't copy & paste comments, don't comment on the articles of drama-mongers and gossipers and in general don't comment on controversial topics.
Don't write generalized comments, don't insult or bully people and don't upvote yourself (the majority here on Steem thinks that is rude as you push your own comment to the top with that, lowering everyone else's comment on the list).
Don't answer rude people and don't downvote them either. Downvoting people leads to flag wars and that means you lose money.
The best option to deal with rude people is to mute them.
In a nutshell:
-Don't copy & paste comments
-Avoid drama-mongers and gossipers
-Avoid controversial topics
-Don't write generalized comments
-Don't insult or bully people
-Don't upvote yourself
-Mute rude people
-Don't downvote people as that causes drama.
You will have to walk on eggshells, most people can not handle real talk, that is just the current state of our society.
Berserkers Discord Server: Discord
Convert your Bitcoin to EUR/USD (Europe:) Wirex
Get More & Higher Upvotes: Steemfollower
A great post.
It will probably be very helpful for newcomers like me.
Don't agree with the "don't disagree with the author" part though. I think that our opinions are more important than the upvotes / followers, and that an honest comment is not a bad comment. Quite the opposite, really..
Sure, being honest doesn't mean being rude. I believe you can say whatever you want, as long as you do that in a nice and pleasant way.
@valorforfreedom
Your post is a curators fortune! It seems to me as a hatching minnow in these steemie waters, that this post says it all.
I am learning markdown, not to tech savvy as of yet but learning.
Truly thank you for mostly confirming what my gut was telling me about commenting, and learning more from you this happy morning, (crypto-fire sale is making me smile as I am buying more steem!)
I love dancing on egg shells!
And not a one has been broken! You have just improved my dance!
Jumping in feet first!
Much appreciation!
Lynn
Up with you.
@Valorforfreedom
Wow...I am grateful for your
Gift! I am joyfully following, waiting for episode 2!
Yay!
Lynn
Tomorrow's episode is about perfectly formatting your Steem posts.
That will help a lot of people!
Very good cognitive post! Especially useful for beginners..
This gif is just mesmerizing. I sweear I could just stare at that for a minute or three. "its a vibe"
such a missed op to write in an eggshell lol. Such a good honest post. Our society is 100% not ready for people to be honest but it 100% loves being passive aggressive which I think is horrible!!!!! That’s another story hahaha.
Great stuff will use what I can and thanks :-)
100% agree Cryptokenny and you did obviously read the post.
You earned the upvote.
@valorforfreedom Very sorry, but I have to break one of your rules “Never disagree with the author”. Just don’t upvote me - that’s fine to prove the point.
So I disagree with one of your ideas: you wrote:
This is a very annoying practice -especially if the picture has nothing in particular to do with the blog. When this happens in my blogs, I find it irritating, and certainly won’t vote the poster. I might ask him to remove the picture (assuming that it has nothing to do with the subject).
I would like to thank you for all this good advice to newbies. Please keep publishing newbie guides and don’t hesitate to direct people who need help to it.
Upvoted for excellence, despite my disagreement on one small point.
I agree with your disagreement (well played) , it should be combined with an epic comment and related to the topic otherwise it looks like spam.
I edited that point in the post.
Ya, now i got one example that do not disagree the author..becuase i am standing with you in this point so i got little angry to see valorforfreedom post..so you are right we should avoid or stand away from unliked post..Thank you guru ji...(teacher)
I believe that it should be totally fine to disagree with the author, as long as it is expressed in a polite way.
After all, most of us is here for meaningful discussions and learning something new. Personally, I appreciate a constructive criticism much more than flattering. Flattering can make me feel good, but a constructive disagreement can provide me with new insights and improve my way of thinking.
Of course, there will always be people who are convinced that they know everything best; those people might get offended by a disagreement no matter how politely it is expressed, but that's really not our fault.
Cheers! : )
This an example comment...
This manual looks pretty promising to me...
Please upvote it so we can proof that the above guide worked :)
Sure!
Just dont write something like "good post" guys.
Try to ask the author questions.
But not stupid questions..... I often get questions where the answer is already in the blog or in one of the other comments. When this happens, I read someone who is lazy and just trying to attract attention.
Wowww! Great content dear. Very informative too. Really love how you put this;-
Great work Dearie and your invaluable advice I have taken to heart. Steem on Dear friend.
Thank you Efelexy.
My pleasure dear! Wowww. Really love your content. Cheers.
Awesome Tips @valorforfreedom !! Especially for noobies ! Im looking forward to your post on perfectly formatting ! Great job for only being here 5 months , your going to do awesome on Steemit ! Keep up the great work ! Upped Followed and resteemed for others to learn !!👍👍👍🌞🌈😀
Thank you Karen.
Up with you!
Awesome thanks ! Your very welcome!!👊👍😀
That's a very concise and clear article.
It does indeed make sense to avoid controversial topics, drama, fighting, flag wars, insults and bullying.
However it makes me wonder:
if all community members avoid contradicting or challenging the ideas in a post, isn't it going to make the discourse a kind of vanilla conversation, where bloggers would rarely receive constructive criticism, even when their content is untrue or erroneous.
Would following the rules you suggest take away some of the essence of online communities, where people learn and develop by challenging ideas expressed by others, as opposed to constantly agreeing with the ideas presented in posts?
What do you think?
You are correct Yannay, the truth is that if you offend the wrong person here that they will downvote your ass into bankruptcy.
Steem is promoted as decentralized but it isn't. The guys with the biggest wallet rule here and they can take your money without any regulations.
So it is better to fit in, sad but true.
If you want to talk without filters you join the Berserkers server, there you don't need to be afraid to be downvoted.
I think we should all speak our mind - as long as our mind is reasonable rational and well thought out. That does not always work. I once analyzed an ICO that someone was proting on steemit in his blog. I read the white-paper, he did not. My analysis contained a list of red-flags, like “most of the advisors they claim are connected to the company, do not bother to mention it on their linked-in page”. The blogger flew into a violent and abusive rage, and downvoted all of my blogs. (I never downvoted him). I called in the help of @lukestokes who had a lot of steempower at the time (I had almost none). The blogger then started swearing and abusing Luke for coming to my rescue verbally. That was the bloggers mistake.
That’s when I realised I should buy some steempower.
It's unfortunate how immature some people are. They have very tragic expressions of their unmet needs. Having Steem Power and using voting strength to downvote abusive communication is, so far, one of the only ways to deal with some people.
Exactly @lukestokes. If you are serious about steemit and you don’t want to be the victim of some troll, then you need to have a lot of steempower.
I would like to thank you very much for your help on that case, which happened at a time when I was too SP poor (and too new), to know how best to handle the nutter.
Sometimes it's fine just to ignore them and go your way. It's not much for these crazies when they flag people and don't get the emotional outburst they thrive on. It's just a downvote. That's all. Ignore and move on.
They need to rework the Flagging System, maybe get 5 people to confirm the flag or something to make it harder to abuse it.
And by the way: Thank you for the upvotes gentlemen.
Many see the problem right now as not enough downvotes. It costs people voting power they could use to gain curation rewards. Instead they get flag wars. There are many posts about scammers taking from the rewards pool without providing any value, so making it harder for downvotes to happen would only make that problem worse.
Every proposed solution has unintended consequences which should be considered in great detail. Some are thinking about a possible flag rewards pool or even a separate bank of voting power for downvotes to prevent abuse. It's some tricky stuff and may not be figured out until we have SMTs to play with different approaches.
Turns out I still don't know enough about Steem.
You are welcome to comment here Luke, your comments are additional knowledge for me.
I agree, @lukestokes, any new solution to flagging may have unexpected consequences. I guess the topic of downvotes often gets debated on steemit (I have seen quite a few).
Right now I am doing my own thing with downvotes - mainly for spam commenting, more rarely for plagiarism.
My preferred approach is warning first. Then if the spammer does not heed it, I use a small 10% flag to get his attention, with a promise to remove the flag if he learned the lesson. 10% can go to 20% - and so on if the behaviour does not improve.
On a bad-day, I am not beyond giving an immediate 10% or 20% flag for the most blatant cases of spam (with an explanation of course).
It rarely happens that someone flags me back. Mostly I get apologies, and then I remove the small flag. Even if they flag me back, I tend not to bother with retaliation. My high steempower means they can’t harm me. I just try to focus on changing their bad habits.
Sometimes I realise I am dealing with robots. (Robots can post plagiarised internet articles, changing just enough words to fool @originalcontent and similar plagiarism detection bots). There’s not a lot of point in giving warnings to robots.
Hey, this is my first day here on Steemit and thank God I've found your post about comments because it is seriously very helpful. I've only heard good things about the steemit community and thanks to your advice I am going to be more careful about which topic I comment on. Shouldn't it be common knowledge that you only comment on something that you have read or know about? Interesting that it needs to be pointed out.
Yes, here on Steem it needs to be said.
Up with you!
Hey man, a very clear post! I am quite new to the whole steemit an still have been looking for my way around.
Been trying out what the best format is for a post, right balance between my drawing posts and blog posts. etc Maybe worth a Steem school post?
I never even thought about the proper commenting part, I shamefully have to admit even tho I try to write slightly more exiting comments I did use to write a lot of generic ones, after reading this it's clear that that should change.
Although I do feel that images should only be used in comments if they actually add any value.
Thank you for this post,
🐺 @wolv
2 posts per day are best practice, whatever you post, it should always be made with 100% effort.
2 a day will be difficult at the start, but most certainly worth a shot yes. I always put in 100% in the post as well as in the drawings.
Still for a minnow it is a steep road to gain some reach, I'm sure I will get there but it is a battle
I started with 0 investment and I posted 2 posts per day for over 100 days now, if I can do it you can do it as well.
Gogo!
That is amazing! well done! I most certainly will try,
Never really kept a blog before so the difficulty at the start I was speaking about was because I find it hard to think what to blog about. But I'm sure in do time I will find my flow. Until then I'll put some drawings up for the days where I can't think of anything
Take some time to think about post ideas and you will certainly find enough ideas.
Thank you for your advice :) I will!
If more people only knew about the value of the comment section. That's exactly why I've been pushing for people to be highly involved there. To me that's one of he fastest ways to get you rep boosted.
Your Steem school will be a monster dude. You have much knowledge to share. Push that joint hard. It was a smart move to go steemit themed for a while. I see alot of the money being made there.
Thank you for the support as usual Earl, you have been a great help since I am here!
Steem School EP1 was a success, I will definitely push it!
Thanks for pointing me to this article. I guess to be effective in this platform then generalised comments are ignored 9/10 times.
This platform (STEEMIT) is not a Facebook, in the sense there is no need to write general comments, even on FB they get ignored. So i agree after thinking about it, that by writing a general comment it's kind of a waste of time and doesn't contribute much.
I think people should know how to behave, so hopefully not many people need to take the "what not to do advice", I'd hope to think so :D
Good comment, definitely above average!
As a total newbie to Dtube and steemit, I literally searched this content for proper etiquette in this new community.
So, first of all, THANK YOU for the inciteful video.
The only part I would question, is where you say to put videos/pics/gifs in the comments. Doing this would seem to clutter up the comments as well as slow the loading of the page. I'm not certain I will do this very often, but again, I am new here, so you likely know better than I do.
Other than that 1 item, I enjoyed the content and will now look at your other videos. Take care.
Nobody else does it so if you can stand out with a related picture you should do it.
However, if multiple people already did it before you then it is good practice to not do it.
Good comment!
Hey man,
Great Video, I have a question for you! I see you are running a good channel here and you are very consistent. I have a Youtube Channel with 9k subs where I talk about CryptoCurrencies and Steemit. Would love to do a video with you about dtube and steemit! (I found this video on Dtube)
I am down for that, contact me on my Discord server: https://discord.gg/KsWuDMN
This is a great post, and great guidelines to live by, even in the real world. And, I agree with the fact that many people can't handle upfront and honest dialogue from people who don't agree with their views. I'm enjoying your posts and learning about this place called Steemit.
Thank you.
I 100% agree with you.
Most people can't handle the truth and when they hear it they despise it to protect their fragile egos.
In other words: Arguing and discussion with people you don't know is a waste of time.
I do like seeing gifs, pic or vid at the comment, it interest me more to put some meme. Thanks for a very helpful info for us new comers.
Makes the comment section more interesting!
True words. It is precisely through high-quality commentaries that you can draw attention to yourself, which leads to more follower; provided that your own posts are of high quality. I am currently also in the process of adding more commentary to increase my activity on SteemIt and hope that it will lead to more follower who share the same interests. What will be the next topic you will teach us about?
I will cover the basics before I start covering the more advanced methods.
Tomorrow I will create a guide to create perfectly formatted Steem posts.
well, first of all. thanks for sharing your knowledge. Your ideas are very simple to implements and you don't give answers like "give a good comment and engagement with your audience". Your explanations is very interesting.
I know that you said "don't disagree" but I think if we don't share the same opinion we should say it. We can learn a lot Ina good discussion.
I agree, however, most people will be offended, it takes 2 strong individuals to have a good discussion without any butthurt feelings afterwards.
Good point eheh
I believe we are both! :)
It never hurts to read a few more posts, and get a feel for whether the poster is reasonable, or overly reactive.
And when the former, I agree that I've learned a lot from those I don't agree with, as well as those who already share my opinions. Either way the discussions can be interesting, informative and enlightening!
I get it.... 🧐
That made me laugh.
Perfect!! and very true!! 😇
I just watched your video too and THAT is very much worth the watch for anyone. You were very clear and loved that you showed the comments you were talking about on the screen. I think it helps people to really understand what you are talking about.
I love that you are doing this!!! As a newer example of how to make Steemit work for you, you have not forgotten all you had to learn to get where you are so it's still all fresh in your head and it's something you are passionate about and that shows too in the video.
Great Job 😁
I hope your day is going wonderfully!!!
hehehehe you are not going to be able to keep up with comments soon LOLL
Oh, and you are very welcome ✫ but it's been so much fun watching your journey :D!
Carl approves 😁
I got no problem with the comments, the thing is the really long comments, if I had to answer all of them thoroughly It would take the entire fucking day!
Glad you like my video Snooky!
It would!!!! and I added Carl approved to my comment for you✿ so when you need a smile you can just go find him LOLLL
You are cute Snooky.
So one topic in your school posts should be explaining about voting and your voting power!!!
just woke up so my brain is 3 steps behind. :D
That is a very good idea Snooky van Nooky.
sorry my VP is in the dumpster :( I need to go hide for a day LOLLL
Wholy crap, you have this down to a T. All of this after studying for 20 minutes a day? I dig it.
This is a basic concept of building a community that people seem to lack when using this site. They think just watching a video and leaving ANY kind of comment is good. That's WRONG.
What you have here should be a blue print on how to make this site work and comments is a great start.
Thanks for taking the time to make this video.
Glad to see that someone here sees the bigger picture.
The Steem School project is exactly that, a blueprint for others to make cash here on Steem.
Flag wars..... even whales arent immune from those
That is the sad reality.
Avoid the controversial comments I totally agree with dude. At the end of the day I'm not on the Steemit for drama, and drama is all that's gonna come from bringing up or making posts about certain subjects which have the public's attention. Thanks for the tips.
Agree, arguing or discussion with people you don't even know is not a good idea anyway.
Thanks for this video. I found it because a buddy who brought me to Steemit resteemed it. As a newbie on the platform I considered it very helpful! There were many videos and blogs that tell you "comment comment comment" but yours was straight to the point with a couple of good examples.
As you rightfully point out, be polite and never insult people, and I would add: particularly if you disagree with them. And hence I violate one of your suggestions: not to disagree or argue. I am just not sure whether disagreeing or arguing with the blogger is intrinsically a bad practice. I take it that many people don't like to be criticised, but most blog posts are built on opinions. Nothing wrong with that but it makes it (at least to some extent) controversial. Now, isn't it one of the basic principles of a good debate/discussion to not agree or argue, as long as everything happens in a civilized manner.
Else, if everyone only and always agrees, you just achieve something you'd probably call another bad practice: a whole bunch saying basically the same thing (praise) without adding much of value. Nothing wrong with deserved praise, but this shouldn't be an end in itself either.
Cheers
Good words Shimans, you can definitely disagree but I would never do that with the wrong Author, besides that, you almost always make no profit from discussions or arguments with people you don't know.
Wow this is reallu helpful for newbies like me here on steemit. For people who dont get to post daily. I myself sometimes rely on comments and upvotes. Thank you very much @valorforfreedom
Glad that it helps you!
I have been preaching this to all the people I invite to Steemit.. I tell them to read what interests them and make meaningful comments.. learning and earning
Learning and earning...
I like that!
Great post, and it will help lot of people. Kudos!
I'm already doing most of this, though I rarely add images to comments, but I'll consider it in future.
I've been blown away, though, by how many people just never bothered even reading what Steemit is all about, before they started commenting. Which shows in all the "Great post" comments, which are clearly written by people who (mostly) don't even bother to read the posts. And then ask for upvotes. Nope.
I'm resteeming your post in the hopes that at least a few of them will take notice.
Thank you CoP! I really don't like these spam comments either, however, the good thing is that they boost the comment count.
I would rather not have them on my posts tho, they take a lot of space of the comment section.
Thank you for the shoutout Philip! You've been a good leader and a great supporter as well.
Starting the Steem School is a great idea. I'm looking forward on the next episode.
Thank you Dawn!
Hello friend, I've been 8 days in and I'm investigating how to use the bots there I saw that you used a bot paid 80 sbd, but if I do the calculation you will only charge 60 sbd.me you could explain more in depth, or when you vote fast the % 100 for you vote
With that amount I get into the trending section, that is the reason I use that bot.
However, you must make sure that your post is of high quality, if you use bots on low quality you can be sure that you will make some enemies.
ok thanks friend, what do you want to achieve by entering trends to win more votes? in what moment of the post do you recommend sending it to the bot? and what bots do you recommend?
These are good topics for posts, I will write about that thoroughly in the future.
Keep that thirst for knowledge alive.
1. More votes
2. Immediately
3. Minnowbooster
Thanks friend, I do not speak English but the translator helps. But that post success!
Fo Shizzle!
It's kind of funny that we need help how to have a conversation, but there are a few rules that would not seem to be common sense. For instance, one might think it rude to bold your comments, would this be like typing in CAPITAL letters in a chat channel? And ignoring rude people vs addressing them politely, would be a tough one to know. But, being specific about comments, genuine, kind, not upvoting yourself, these concepts extend from general people skills. Maybe steemit is cultivating and training politeness in all of us. :)
It is a stoic exercise to not react to bad comments and to just mute them.
@valorforfreedom You hit the nail on the head with your tips. They are practical, sensible and diplomatic. I like the fact of showing proof that one has indeed read the post, such as I'm doing here: 'use markdown aka use bold on certain highlights.'
I look forward to more of these tips from you. I'm already following you and I will keep following you. Thanks.
You have been upvoted and resteemed.
Thank you.
You really do have to walk on egg shells. Even on steemit, or online in general, I do not want to offend anyone, and potentially lose followers over it. Great post! Following.
In real life I don't care much because there nobody can just touch my money.
Just want to clarify when you say dont upvote yourself, you mean for comments only right? Because i do upvote my post, although i tried hard not to but when i get only cents on a particular blog i made for hours, i cant help myself but vote just to collect more cents...
Anyway, thanks for the tips ill keep it in mind.
God bless!
Only for comments, yes.
Thank you, i will share those tips to our group...
You got a group as well? What is the name of your crew?
Its #steemitachievers and im one of the leaders who are helping newbies to learn more about this amazing platform and guide them to earn a considerable amount that could help them achieve a bettet way of living. Try to click our tag sir, you will see wonderful posts of our talented and dedicated members.
Nice! Do you have a discord channel?
Yes we have but we're not that active there, we utilized fb as our group chat.
Well put together. I think that timing of comments is a big factor too. Commenting on a post early as opposed to later is a pretty big factor in getting up votes as well.
That is true here on Steem, but I look through every comment and give upvotes when they are deserved.
A comprehensive guide for all new Steemians to adopt best practice curation. To bookmark & share when requested. Thanks!
Enjoy Acdevan.
Thank you so much for sharing specially on how to write great comment and gain followers it's a big help for me as a minnow in steemit I'm new in steemit that's why I'm more of reading to learn more 👍
Keep learning and taking massive action and your following and your Steemit wallet WILL GROW!
Thank you so much😊
Liked it @valorforfreedom
As you said not to upvote self comment. I have seen many people upvoting their comments with Bots. Will that do any good apart from his bot earnings?
Many people dislike it so it is bad practice here on Steem.
Thank you
Do you like Steem School? What do you dislike? Share your opinion and feedback to improve it!
I do like Steem School and I like how you tied in this lesson with the previous lesson by advising to avoid commenting on posts covering topics such as religion and politics, while also avoiding drama-mongers and gossipers. It's very good advice you're giving for those just starting out here on Steemit. And quite necessary as Steemit can be quite overwhelming to those who are brand-new to the platform. Keep sharing and educating @valorforfreedom
Pretty funny how the user just above this post (currently) upvoted their own comment after you specifically said not to do that in your post.
yes steem scool is a good teacher for small fish like us, I think expanding the network is a good thing
I think this post is very useful, we do not have to rush to draw conclusions in someone's post. but reading carefully will surely get additional knowledge, rather than reading the title then commenting it is a stupid thing to me.
Remember that many people here dislike self-upvotes.
You nailed it pretty much. I make a lot more morey commenting that posting and it takes much less effort and time. Also, another advice is ti follow people that interest you, with same conversation topics and comment on their posts regularly, build a connection and you'll way more upvotes and followers. It's about socializing with fellow Steemians and definitely don't comment on something that doesn't interest you. Steemit is a place to enjoy and earn some cash by doing whay you like.
Epic post my Friend! Thank you very much for sharing! How can you disagree with the Terminator! Out of this world advice! I try to put as much thought and effort into my comments as possible. Wishing everyone the very best of health and happiness! Warm Wishes! Positive Energy! Great Karma! Your Friend @extraterrestrial :)
Your comment is too generalized, without markdown and without any gifs, videos or pictures.
Wow!!! I think this is super educative because i never knew if these things as a steemit newbie...thanks for yhe enlightenment @valorforfreedom
Wow!!! I think this is super educative because i never knew if these things as a steemit newbie...thanks for yhe enlightenment @valorforfreedom
I disagree with the first part of point 5. Sometimes disagreement (done respectfully) can be the most important comment a wise author ever receives. It can lead to full posts extending the discussion which the author may upvote 100%. It can lead to incredible conversations, relationships, and new, valuable perspectives on life.
If you're following/commenting/disagreeing and only getting immature, negative responses, then you're following and commenting on the wrong blogs. Those who understand the true value of dissenting opinions will vote them up for visibility, even if they still disagree.
I saw a comment of yours earlier I'd like to clarify some points on:
Not possible. Nothing that is "yours" can be taken away with a downvote. The number you see next to a post is only an estimation of the portion of the rewards pool your post will receive based on the current rshares. It's not "yours" until after the post pays out and the VESTS on your account are increased.
Be careful not to confuse STEEM with Steemit. STEEM, the blockchain, is decentralized by 20 main witnesses who are block producers all over the world along with over 100 backup witnesses. If demand increased for witnesses, more would apply as needed. It's more decentralized than most other cryptocurrencies (IMO). Also, again, it's not "your money" until it's actually "your money" paid out by the blockchain. Read the white paper for more clarity on this.
As to Steemit and being flagged by immature a-holes, yes, that does happen. Happened to me many, many times. I didn't let it change my actions at all. Why would I? Why should I be "afraid" to be downvoted? It doesn't physically harm me in any way. The only people harmed by it are those who have an incorrect understanding of how the blockchain works or who think the potential rewards is somehow "theirs."
That said, it's annoying as hell to get downvoted by a-holes. It's super frustrating, especially when they do it in the last 12 hours before payout so other whales couldn't adjust it back up (which is what happened to me many times). Ultimately, we have to have solid expectations based on reality and act according to them.
I may not agree with you completely, but I'm following you to see how this series goes.
This is true. When i earned good upvote when engaging to the author and gives credible comments about the topic. Worth resteeming this article. Thanks @valorforfreedom
Thankyou so much for recomending me this post...i must say, you are the most inspiring person i've met on steemit so far! im learning alot of things from you and i hope you'll teach me many more things in the coming days...! :)
I think, that's why people prefer Steemit over centralized social media, because of freedom of expressing opinions.
You can do that here on Steem without being censored.