You're right, that was a wild generalization, I will explain myself more fully. What I'm really trying to say is that there are people out there who see the world very differently and in fact have a completely different set of ethical standards. We can persuade some by simply making arguments about the ethical rights and wrongs, but when we come up against people with such a completely different worldview (that is missing the golden rule), then it will most probably be futile to argue with words. Arguing with Steem Power on the other hand, that could be a different matter - if we can manage to persuade some whales to take an interest in the situation.
Having looked at quite a few posts like yours, including some recent ones, and noticed that the same conversation was going on 2 years ago, then I suppose it may not be realistic to try to get the system changed (although I see it still says beta in the title)? I am under the impression that the creators of the system expected that the community would eventually find ways to moderate bad behaviour, but I immediately came across flagging wars going on in the posts I was interested in. The situation must be improved or the platform will get a bad reputation externally IMHO.
I don't see the platform's reputation changing much UNTIL something comes out to replace it such as perhaps an EOS backed platform. I am keeping my eyes open.
I'm not so sure on the reputation point. It's all very well for people who just want to come here to share fun holiday pictures and so on, or discuss technical things, but if you want to engage in serious debate (as I do) it's a bit of a different situation. Many of the refugees from FB and Twit come here hoping for a place where they can freely speak their mind.
I've seen quite a few instances where people try the platform, hit these kinds of problems and then stop posting. hoopatang and david michael (who's post I shared above) are just two instances of this. They are going to go elsewhere and talk about it, I feel pretty sure of that.
The last post that hoopatang commented on was this one (2 years ago):
When Concerning Steemit, I've Come To Realize ... I'm Too Old For This
Quote:
I suppose at least your posts will still remain on the blockchain even if they are flagged, but you may not be able to earn any income from writing about anything controversial and your posts may never reach the trending page, unless you can find some sponsors rich in Steem Power. It's still interesting me though, I will stick with it for a time at least and see how I get on.
This has been the case since steemit began. The thing is there still is nowhere like steemit. Until there is they can go somewhere else, but it won't be the same. Myself and others have said the same things for years and we've even seen people leave that wish they would have stuck it out. I do think once there is a decent competitor that people will likely gravitate towards it, but at this point that hasn't really been the case.