With hardfork 21/22 came some changes to how voting works. The steembottracker website has been updated to show vote values in the new ecosystem where the author/curation split is now 50:50.
The reward curve is still separate from the calculation: if your post hasn't received much voting the bot will apply less. If the post has already earned decent rewards the bot will add more. That's part of the new curve, but that isn't taken into account when buying votes.
Free Downvotes
The other change is free downvotes for all users. If you didn't notice these were used rather rapidly on some posts in trending. A couple of trending post rewards essentially evaporated as the community disageed with the value.
This is extremely healthy for the ecosystem and we applaud the community for helping to determine reasonable values for posts based on their contributions to the ecosystem.
Did the pendulum swing too far already?
Right now lots of bots are sitting entirely unused. Some of you may be applauding that as you hate bid bots and all they stand for, but keep in mind the bid bots have people holding millions of steem. As you're cheering for their death it may lead to the exodus of people holding millions of Steem and drive down the price.
Rather than celebrate the complete death of all bidbots let's talk about a smart use for the voting service.
Vote Buying Terror
Right now it seems that people are terrified to use them. Some of that is probably pretty healthy for the system, but should vote buying be zero? Can there be legitmate use of purchasing post promotion? Can the community handle "good bot voting?"
Good bot use: Does this post add value to the ecosystem?
There are a handful of post types out there.
- Shitposts designed to milk rewards
- Posts that provide some value, but likely only to certain groups
- Things that help the whole chain ecosystem by providing value
Generally speaking, I'd suggest the following. Flag the crap out of shitposts clearly designed to milk rewards. Let moderate value posts collect some rewards and if they choose to use a reasonable amount of botting to help get noticed let it stand. If people are generally adding value to the chain and want to get noticed I'd encourage the community to use bidbots and let the votes stand.
How can one determine if it's adding value to the chain?
Value is subjective. We are actually looking to crowd source that value with the voting system we have here, but there are some general things that can help determine that.
- Is it facilitating businesses or communitites migrating or interacting on Steem?
- Is it helping to powerup or burn steem?
- Is it attracting new eyeballs to Steem?
- Is it providing unique perspective or content you can't find anywhere else?
- Is it providing a service to the community?
Posts can certainly have value that aren't those things. But before you use a bidbot or before you flag a post using a bidbotted post I'd suggest you ask yourself the question "Is this content providing value to the Steem ecosystem." If it is providing value go ahead and use a bidbot and promote yourself. Try not to flag posts that add value. If the post doesn't add value you should probably steer clear and flag if it has a lot of post rewards.
Post promotion can add value
By allowing posts that are clearly aiding the ecosystem to accept votes we can help them trend. A new project or service that doesn't have 1M steem to get on trending can now use it appropriately to get some eyeballs. That's good for the ecosystem!
It also allows Steem Investors to earn a passive return. That's good for the price of Steem.
Overall; good clean up, let's not obliterate the industry
My argument at it's heart is that post promotion can be ok when it's used to promote posts that add value to the ecosystem. If they provide a little value, it shouldn't be that big of a deal to promote it a little. If it provides a lot of value I would encourage people to bid bot and not flag the botted post. If it's a shitpost with tons of bidbots on it we as a community should nuke that biatch.
If you're a "good" user that doesn't typically use bid bots consider using them for a little bit of promotion on a good post. Help your account grow, get more eyes,and support some whales who hold stake here. Just try to make sure that the post is unique and providing value.
Overall, nice job Steemians! A+ cleanup work!