I like Bid Bots and cannot lie! Personally, for myself, the way I use them; they're great. And the specific way I use these bots has been inspired by @aggroed, so here's a big thank you to him for showing how all of us can benefit in abundance by using certain strategies.
Here's The Strategy I Use
First, I'll make a post, then leave it for a few hours, possibly a day or two. This is to allow the people who follow me to upvote the post. Then, I will use a BidBot which rewards the upvoters with better returns from curating because it's after they have voted. And, of course, my post (hopefully) has a better chance of 'trending' and getting more views. Now, usually this works out fine if I stick to using the BidBot at a particular time of the day. I have found that around 7~9am GMT for using the BidBots seems a lot quieter and not as many bidders are around. But what I've noticed at other times is; right before the countdown timer ends on a particular BidBot, the 'killers' come in and ruin it for everyone, themselves included!?
What Do I Mean By 'Killers'?
Here I have to thank @spencercoffman for sharing the concept of killing a BidBot as; a bidder who bids the 'Maximum Suggested Bid' amount and thereby killing any profit. I'm always willing to give people the benefit of any doubt, and for this reason I'll assume they are not aware of the consequences of their own actions on the community. So, if there is a lack of awareness about this, then more education will equate to more wealth for all of us. The virtue of patience seems to be woven into the very fabric of Bitcoin and similarly Steem. The other virtue I think worth mentioning is trust. The idea of trusting another to not spoil the broth at the last minute, may indeed come down to a simple lack of awareness.
The screen shot above shows that there are three minutes until all the votes go out. But seconds before that, the 'Max Suggested Bid' was around 4SBD and everyone in that round was going to receive 7% profit with curation factored in. Even though the minimum bid was 5SBD, someone came in and bid!? This is referred to as killing a bot because the profit has been 'killed' or stopped. I've many times thought about contacting the late bidders through a memo and inquiring as to why, or attempting to at least find out if they knew the consequences of their actions, but decided against it, and thought this challenge could be better fixed when shared to everyone, hence this post. Their actions should also be seen in a more positive light, because they have drawn attention to something where we can all benefit, once this has been worked on. So, if you're reading this right now, and you are a killer of Bots, then, thank you :)
While writing the above paragraph, more killers came in and did this to yet another Bot with a minus 36.08% loss for everyone in that round. And, funnily enough, in the 'last round', the same percentage loss occurred.
So What's The Solution Then?
Is this something that can be remedied at the BidBot site which was made by @yabapmatt or is already been worked on?
Is this a good thing because it makes authors provide even more quality content so as to not totally rely on the BidBot profits?
Would it be appropriate to memo the killers and offer more education regarding their murderous sprees?
Is the whole idea of BidBots abhorrent to you?
Do you love using the Bots and don't think this is anything to worry about? (early stage killer?)
Let me know your own thoughts and feelings about this and, hey, I'm still new to all of this and am completely open to continuing my learning process here on Steemit. So if there is anything inaccurate or completely off base, then help me understand this better.
All the best to you,
Phi23
Who Are You?
Confessions Of A Minnow
The Music Plays Itself
Shocking Accuracy Of Guessing