I have a lot on my mind.
This post is going to go one of two ways. Either it will be long and rambling, or I will give up and delete the entire thing before pressing publish. I guess if you are reading this... cozy in for a fair amount of babbling.
Where to start...?
Lately, our community has received some negative attention. I won't go into details as to why, but there have been four incidents where users have been accused of breaking the "Hive Rules". While you may not agree with the hive rules (we are decentralized after all), many users do abide by these "rules". As you likely know, certain groups seek out perceived abusers in an effort to protect the platform and the rewards pool. They do this by adding names to blacklists, creating down vote trails, banning user posts from their communities, asking communities not to support the abusers with upvotes, etc.
What are some things that could get a user into trouble on Hive?
Plagiarism - this is the blatant copying of materials (words, pictures, sometimes full posts) and sharing them as if they are your own.
Improper sourcing - Similar to plagiarism, if you use a photo or words that are not your own please add a source. Just taking two seconds to add your information source can save so much grief for you. An example of sourcing:
I @dfinney took this photo, but since I am posting today from the @myprecious account I might source my photo like this: Photo credit @dfinney. Source: HERE. Recycling posts - If you are reposting things you wrote before, and getting rewarded with upvotes again, people are not going to be happy. This includes recycling posts from a few years ago, but it also includes posting the same thing on Steem and Hive. If you are double dipping on the two platforms, best practice is to post on Hive first, then list the hive post as your source on Steem.
One photo minimal words posts - Save these for Leo Threads. Leo threads is the perfect platform for short form shares.
Using AI - You may have noticed there is A LOT of on chain chatter regarding users creating entire posts or parts of posts with AI. Some users see this as a great way to make content and any content is good for Hive. Other users STRONGLY feel this is the ultimate betrayal of the Hive ecosystem. Over the past two weeks I have learned more about AI, and AI detection tools that I ever would have wanted. I will say it is in your best interest, and the best interest of the community to refrain from using AI to create your posts, or images. If you do use AI, at least source you are doing so. If you choose to use AI on the sly, there is a decent chance you will be discovered. Here is a photo I created using the Midjourney AI art tool, and it is sourced. So easy!
AI image created with prompts by @dfinney using Midjourney. Originally shared on Instagram
- There are surely other activities on chain that can bring unwanted attention to your account, but I will leave it at those above for today.
I know life gets busy. We all have some combination of things like stressful jobs, family commitments, writer's block, errands, health issues or language barriers. But, YOU DO NOT NEED TO POST EVERY DAY. If you have nothing to say, or no time to properly say what is on your mind, just don't post. Hive will be here tomorrow when you have time.
I do not want to be a member of the Hive police. I get the sense that our group is generally opposed to regulation. Hence the fact you signed up for a decentralized social media site. Unfortunately for me, and since my name is listed on the community Hive page as our group moderator, when a person or group has a beef with a member of the stacking clan I get contacted. So, the choice you made to save time, is taking my time. Which I don't love.
Some Hive communities do a lot of self moderating/self policing. For our community the standard the last few years has basically been:
- Screen you at nomination.
- Hope for the best afterward.
Since we don't self moderate, "abusers" are generally brought to our attention by other groups (ie Hivewatchers). This brings scrutiny to our curation account. Because inevitably we are questioned as to why we have upvoted users who have been caught abusing the system. Then the assumption becomes that we have done this intentionally. We definitely aren't upvoting these users purposefully, but this distrust from the ecosystem jeopardizes the reputation of the whole group.
So, I guess I am personally frustrated.
If you are cutting corners on Hive, I hope that you will rethink your choices. Our group is not huge and many of us have been friends for upwards of 6 years. I am tired and sad seeing community members and friends abandoning (or being pushed off of) Hive due to rewards disputes.
End of Soapbox Rant for Today
Actually, I will also share that one friend advised me to just ignore the tags and discord messages I get about this stuff. Or I could un-mod myself from the community page. I don't know. I suppose both are options.
In other news:
Vegas:
It's not to late to join your fellow silver gold stackers in Las Vegas for the 60th Las Vegas Numismatic Society Coin Show. Several of us will be in town March 23- March 27. The show is at the Palace Station Casino for those who are interested.
Membership:
@pocketechange finally made the jump from Steem to Hive, so you will see he is back on the list. I know there are also some outstanding nominations for the community. I will attend to them in a future post.
Take care everyone. Thank you for taking the time to read this post.