The problem comes in when you see a post voted into oblivion that is not plagiarism, is not spam, and is not abusive.
Any device that judges between spam, trolling, and unpopular opinion is going to be managed by a human's subjective thinking. For the most part , that hasn't abused to the point I have been afraid it could be.
I won't name anyone in the biggest counter-example, but the guy who got censored the greatest here made it a point to shove his thumb right back in the censors' eyes, sometimes in pretty vulgar ways...the Don Quixote of Steemit. You could say that his confrontational mode of engaging the subject was going to take him to where he is now.
The next biggest case I have seen was that of @knrel; again, he made it a point to call out that behavior, but he did it in a reasoned manner. His decision to quit writing as much for the platform after the fallout should be considered one of our biggest losses.
We can work with the community and eventually we are sure to come up with solutions to these never before encountered problems.
That is going to require Steemers with both persuasive and courtesy skills. It's going to take Steemers who aren't afraid of bucking whales and/or the community at large. It's going to take Steemers with knowledge of the platform beyond the DEU point.
Because it is going to take respectful, knowledgeable persuasion to change the mindset of what should be flagged. people, whether wale or minnow, usually don't change their minds.
Very passionate and detailed writing in this post. Thank you!
Yes, this is a risk. It's also the only choice we have at the moment. :)
Yeah @krnel was telling me to POINT out names when I was challenging them before him. That was not my goal. He and I had different approaches, but I also wrote posts against some of the same people he did. I actually changed some minds, but not the minds of those @krnel ended up going after.
It highlighted the problem to those that were not already aware, but ultimately all it did was result in @krnel leaving. I don't necessarily consider that a WIN. It seems like a LOSS to me. Which you seem to have indicated as well.
I've done so. It can be done without resorting to name calling, belittling, etc. Those things don't typically turn out too well. They tend to be more for the sake of the audience rather than changing the minds of the target. Yet it is the people that are performing these actions and have so much power they are difficult to counter that must have their minds changed if possible. I don't believe you will change their mind by name calling, belittling, and attempting to shame them. That is simply a path to escalation. You also cannot expect their minds to change instantly. If you are reasonable and what you say seems to make sense then perhaps over time it will change them as well. They need time to think on it. The ideas need to take root and grow.
That is my approach. I realize people do things differently, and people respond to things differently. I no longer expect instantaneous change and capitulation. I consider it a mental war of attrition fought with civility and reason.
Difficult things can often provide the best rewards.