I am finding it fascinating to watch how the usage of the Steemit platform is evolving. I am seeing a lot of negative developments at the moment, but solutions are also beginning to emerge. I spent some time looking at flagging wars, and now here we have another problem - plagiarism. The solution to both of these problems on a platform that has no central authority seems to be for vigilante actors, whether groups or individuals, to emerge. This could almost I think be seen as a test in microcosm for how (or whether) law and order could function in a stateless society.

For this sort of solution to work it will be necessary for ordinary users to fund the vigilantes I think, they will not operate for long if they are driven only by pure altruism. It is of course a valuable form of work, as such it should be rewarded, and furthermore such vigilantes could also face hostile flagging actions by the plagiarists who's operations they disrupt, so they will also need funds to counter such flagging attacks.

Will vigilante groups fall out and wage flagging wars against each other? In the film Gangs of New York (based loosely as I understand it on the real history of New York) rival fire services fought each other. An article on the subject at Smithsonian.com (I can't vouch for the accuracy):

In the Early 19th Century, Firefighters Fought Fires … and Each Other