UPDATE
A new version of the Pixie comment has been identified. Rather than just seeking followers, they are being used as chance to upvote themself and collect the steem. This is ok if they tip themself and the other person. Just tipping theself becomes a Pixie comment.
I am yet to be trolled on Steemit. Not in a way that I have been perceptive enough to realise anyhow.
In the past, it seemed it was just the way that Mother Nature intended things to be. Just as 'where you find soil - you find insects'; 'where you find garbage - you find flies'; so too it was that 'where you find public internet forums - you find Trolls'.
But is this no longer a universal truth?
There was always going to be a shift in dynamics once the prospect of directly earning currency was mixed with a public posting forum - namely Steemit. Drivers behind people posting were going to change and behaviours along with them. Some of the behaviours we have witnessed are spamming where people are just throwing anything up in the hope of getting a few upvotes - don't you love those posts with a YouTube video without any writing to go along with it, or the straight copy pastes from a range of sources outside of Steemit.
Another behaviour that has been observed is the Pixie comment - which is different to a Troll comment both in motive and effect on the poster and wider steemit community. Some would argue they are merely an attempt to increase the Pixie's followers, others would go further to suggest that they are an attempt to achieve financial gain for the Pixie - achieved by the spreading of positive and happy messages around the Steemit landscape. Those comments may be broad enough to be applicable to any post on Steemit, or have just enough to tie in with the post - sometimes conveying a misunderstanding of the content. Always they have a positive spin and attempt to incite goodwill in the receiver.
I think we are far enough into the digital era that we can safely presume there is a common understanding of what a Troll is. A person who causes trouble or is just downright rude.
A Pixie is a completely different creature by nature - some descriptions from around the net include -
"Pixies are wee, magical creatures who throw merry parties and shower blessings across the countryside.."
"Pixies may be small, but they are rich in magical power. They often use their powers to bring a smile to the face of a human friend."
"They are beloved for their childlike appearance and bubbly spirits, even though they do play the occasional prank on travelers."
I have compiled a short list of Pixie comments as examples, whilst leaving the Pixie commenters anonymous:
My apologies to those commenters whose examples I have used above who were offering heart felt and sincere comments which I have misinterpreted.
You needn't search wide and far to find examples for yourself.
This shift in behaviours is a welcome one. While the behaviour is not ideal, it certainly is a testimate to the culture that is currently in place throughout the Steemit community, and is certainly a preference people will have over the alternative Troll comments which are common in the majojrity of public internet forums.
Steem on and thanks for stopping by
strapped
i like how it makes everyone think about what they say
Cheers rl90. Thanks for stopping by
Man thats a robust upvote you got going on there. Many thanks!
I agree and also the fact that it doesn't suppress what they WANT to say :))
<pixiemode>Thank you for your good post. I am pleased to read good posts in feeds</pixiemode>
;)
Confound it. Those damn Pixies have started screwing around with the programming language.
You raise a good point. I thought about this before and just came to the conclusion that its too early for trolls and that they would arrive in the future. But it could be the financial gain stopping it.
Wait.... is this a pixie comment??... mind blown
Haha awesome comment @adamm I hope its the cash transforming them as they come through the door. And yeah I certainly don't want this post to get everyone questioning their own sincerity!
Great article. I agree with your analysis of the Pixie's and look forward to more posts about the subject. Keep it positive and honest and you will go a long way.
Was that Pixie enough for you lulzzzzzzzzzz
Seriously though, you are totally right. But it IS better than getting trolled. The hardest part is trying to figure out if the comment is sincere or pixie . .
But here!! The obligatory GIF that captures the embodiment of your post!
Top comment mate. That gif has long term potential.
Nice post. Please upvote my comment
God damn Pixies
This is interesting. Up until now, I haven't really noticed this (truth be told, I was away for many months until now).
The magical formula seems to be "X + money". Anyone rememberes Tsu social network? It worked like a Facebook, but they shared some high percentage of the ad-revenue with users who generated the content. Nice idea, but you should see how it all tuned out:
..under every post/conversation. Yes, money changes the behaviour, but I'm not sure if for the better. Are we trying to solve the unsolvable?
Very interesting I hadn't heard of that site. I certainly think we are dealing with some very instinctual behaviours here!
Maybe I should change my name to ThatPixieBeth.... I literally just went through my comments to self-judge. I only comment when I genuinely appreciate things but I throw around praise life a flower girl. Mostly in the Art category but that's because as an "artist" it's really nice to get positive feedback. Steemit is sooo responsive too! Not like FB where your just shouting into the abyss. I'll be stealing this new slang word/definition btw. Clever as it is.
Nah you give awesome comments. Certainly don't want to stop anyone commenting - its what steemit is all about. Definitely feel free to use the term - it is public property now. BTW which part of steemit are you finding expensive?
Thanks! Not sure what you mean by finding expensive?
Hey sorry I must have been in too much of a hurry when I read your previous post. Somewhow where you said responsive I read expensive. Yes very response crew here, not expensive at all ;)
Congratulations! This post has been upvoted from the communal account, @minnowsupport, by strapped from the Minnow Support Project. It's a witness project run by aggroed, ausbitbank, teamsteem, theprophet0, and someguy123. The goal is to help Steemit grow by supporting Minnows and creating a social network. Please find us in the Peace, Abundance, and Liberty Network (PALnet) Discord Channel. It's a completely public and open space to all members of the Steemit community who voluntarily choose to be there.
If you like what we're doing please upvote this comment so we can continue to build the community account that's supporting all members.
Such a great post, full of useful information that I read many times. Please follow me and upvote all of me so I can be a rich pixie ;p
But seriously, yeah I see these kind of comments a lot. I love the name for this type of behaviour, "Pixie". Did you come up with it?
Hey thanks for stopping by. I do believe the term Pixie just ocurred to me, unless someone beat me to it independently! I'll check your posts out and follow/upvote in turn. strapped
I love the term, I think it should catch on as it seems pretty appropriate. I was joking about the follow thing, only follow me if you are interested in getting some strange original music in your feed :)
Yeah def I picked up on that. But I wasn't joking about checking your posts out - its all about mutual support
I'm not sure that this is necessarily a welcome shift. Sure, as far as tone goes, it is positive, but trolls are generally not purely spammers or spam bots. "Pixies," as you call them, seem to clog up meaningful discussion in a way that even trolls did not. Pretty much every post on a platform like this is filled with pixie comments, and it gives a distasteful impression to those who are new to a community. It makes it seem like the only reason people use the site is the hope of making a quick buck. If Steemit wants to remain long-term and attract an average user, it needs to distance itself from this phenomenon in some way, at least in my opinion.
Top comment. I'm only a short time user and from what I'm seeing there are certainly people here trying to post some great stuff and network, but it appears the primary goal for the majority is getting steem - whatever they perceive to be the fastest way possible.
You've coined the perfect term for what is a very interesting phenomenon. Everyone on Steemit is on their bestest behaviour, which makes a welcome change from the shit storm you'll normally find in the comments on the likes of Youtube.
Cheers dpol. Thanks for stopping by
On the upside, I'd rather be sprinkled in pixie dust than troll arrows :P maybe not the "follow me" part but I think I'm safe from that seeing as I'm new, too. And I may have said "Thanks for this!" on posts about how to put links on pictures, how to do a post (center, bold, lines, etc) but that's after other sentences in the comment. Did it also for posts that make me laugh after a paragraph addressing what was posted. But now, I'm actually evaluating if it's a good thing to say it considering it might actually come across as something else. Hm.. decisions, decisions. And I love the pixie term. I think it might actually catch on (if it hasn't already)
Ha its all good @unspeakableme. Just a bit of fun. A lot of people have responded to this article worried that they are giving Pixie comments. Just saying good post etc. doesn't make it a Pixie! You're comments are awesome. Cheers
I think it's a good thing that this is making people re-evaluate their responses. Sometimes, we're doing something that we don't even know bothers other people. If no one mentions it, we're probably going to keep on doing it. I've always been conflicted if I'm posting a TLDR comment but since no one's telling me it bothers them, I end up doing it (I'm trying to moderate it, promise!). But yeah, since the generic line came up, I kind of wonder about the others. I've come across your examples a bit. It's okay the first few times I've seen it but after a while... Anyway! TLDR again. Sorry! Great post! (I do mean that)
Our voting behaviour, also on comments, will determine the faith of troll and pixie comments. But it will not stop it; can't change human nature.
I agree, things will never be perfect
Kind of like life itself.
word
I got a lot of these comments on my introduction post, it's sad that they just copy and paste for the post count and not for the quality of the community. Great post none the less #teamaustralia
Haha yeah sometimes those comments can be fun to read. Its certainly not ideal, one good thing is they are not criticising comments - which can have a damaging impact on steemit and peoples happiness. Great to see you here cheech-oz
Great response ahah, it's a pleasure to have you on my feed mate. Cheers 😄
Thank you for good posting. I am very pleased to read good posts in good feeds. Also I am very interested in Red Roses and The Chemicals that give them smell., please follow me.
Sorry @strapped, I couldn't help myself 😆
Ha. Where did I put my Pixie spray
You're a champion steemking777. Great to see you here.