Finding Peace
Peace is always nearby, but many times conflicts are looming or overshadow that peace.
It is the age old problem as old as graphene based social media
How the rewards are divided. Let's be perfectly honest, everyone is here, at least to some extent, because of the economic benefits of being here. It may not be our main reason, but it has played a role in you spending time on the blockchain.
Proof of Brain being the hottest tag with the largest upside (LEO maybe is tied) and the newest community gets to figure all of this out again. There have been many posts talking about self-voting, down-voting and how to develop the best merit based rewards pool going.
The Truth Hurts
This system will always be as good as the code (a.k.a the law). Currently, self-voting is allowed by law. Self voting yourself 10 times daily at 100% is allowed by law. A popular maxim on this blockchain is "you are free to do with your stake as you please." There are also many people who see the Hive Blockchain and its tribes as a giant yield farm.
War
The downvote has been a tool, to my knowledge, since the beginning of Hive's previous incarnation. I remember when @berniesanders had a horribly negative reputation because @dan downvoted him into reputation hell.
There is the famous feud between @ned and @dan where Ned used the STINC stake and upvoted his own comment to the tune of $1200... or was it $3000? "Downvoted for aggrandizment."
There were many "flag wars" and "whale wars" over the years on the blockchain. What were all of these squabbles about?
Power
Power is usually an underlying theme in most conflicts. Power is worked for and paid for on this blockchain. People who have been around on the hive blockchain, and its various tribes and its parent chain, have built up a decent stake and know the lay of the land. Power in the form of Hive-power or POB-power is the power-holders right.
I have worked hard for my stake on the blockchain and feel entitled to it and the powers and rewards that come with it. I am sure that you feel the same way. This is where it gets interesting. The "reward pool" is where all of the new tokens are minted by the power holders (who use their votes to decide how the new tokens get distributed).
Entitlement
We all feel entitled to our share of the rewards, or how they are distributed. If we see someone who has their own idea of how these rewards should be distributed, a conflict may arise. The downvote is there for that reason. Recently, the downvote was upgraded so you didn't "waste" your vote on "correcting" the distribution method to how you properly see it.
Once a downvote is thrown, two things can happen.
The receiver of the downvote looks to the law and sees that it is part of the code and goes back to that old maxim "it is their stake and they are free to do what they will with it,"
Throw a fit, write a huge article about why flagging is censorship (it is not), wrong, unfair and how (the flagger) is a no good POS that deserves to be kicked off of the blockchain. (The more common)
Reacting in the first case is rare, but I do see it from blockchain "vets"... They get it. It is a thing that can happen when stake is at play. Most people react like scenario #2. This is because they take it personally and feel like they are under attack.
Peace and a thriving blockchain
Here is the meat and potatoes, or tofu and quinoa, of this article. The why I am writing this.
The law (or code) allows for everything, self voting, vote-for-vote trading, vote buying, downvoting, downvoting to oblivion, downvoting someone into a power down where they take their stake elsewhere...
All of this is allowed.
The Problem is the platform suffers
If war takes over the platform, with downvotes and conflict. People leave, people sell, people find a new place to hang out.
This is why we have discussions about what we should and should not do with our stake even though we can. A trending page full of flag war posts and low quality vote trading posts does not sell our community, nor does it bring value to the blockchain.
The downvote exists for a reason.
The people who care enough about this blockchain to power up enough POB-power or hive power to attempt to make this blockchain look good, and onboard more people also need to be ready to fight for this blockchain.
Kids draw guns, grown ups draw lines
Discussion is key. In order to keep peace on the blockchain, we need to continually talk about it. We need to put opinions down on these sensitive subjects. We need to draw a line and let people know that this is where we stand and why. Respect is born out of this strategy, and with respect comes motion. With motion comes growth and with growth comes prosperity.
Too many people are afraid of a downvote. Many are afraid to use it. This is good in a way, and bad in a way. Let me explain my thinking here.
I see downvoting as a last resort sort of thing. If I see spam or scammers, I downvote. If I see activity I don't condone, I don't upvote. If I see repeated activity I don't condone, I talk about it. Usually a conversation brings about understanding, and understanding brings about peace. I have yet to downvote a member of the community... I hope I can continue this trend indefinitely.
Vision for Proof of Brain
My vision for this platform is still the same as it was when I started here nearly a month ago. I envision high quality content dominating the trending page. This is because the curators on the site take their role seriously and attempt to make the best content the content that is seen first.
I see many members of the community continually sharing ideas for how to keep growth and forward momentum as a mainstay on the platform. In order to do that, the community needs to reach many understandings, and continue to understand as things grow and change over time.
I see contests, games and all kinds of great engagement opportunities becoming staples on this platform. I see everyone's upvote's getting less and less powerful while at the same time, the cost of the token offsetting this change. This, of course, has to happen due to the distribution of the token staying low while more members grow their stake and become active on the chain.
I see a peaceful place where there is not a lot of issues with how things are being distributed as we continually discuss these things and are in a constant state of understanding. Some things will always remain. Whale's are gonna whale, plankton are gonna plankton and that will always be the same.
My two cents
A month ago my two cents wasn't worth much, now, on POB, my two cents is likely worth 25 cents, but that is not the two cents I am talking about.
I believe the code (law) is good here. I believe the REAL law is the code, plus the stakeholders. As a stakeholder, I am the law. The code is here as a guide for how I (a lawmaker) interact with other stakeholders (other lawmakers).
The Law on POB
We are the law on Proof of Brain. @proofofbrainio has the largest gavel and therefore, the most responsibility to the platform. They also have the most vested interest in the success of the platform. This is why the system works. Those that hold the most stake also have the most to lose or gain. They need to be thinking about what is best for the platform. @calumam is a large stakeholder who has been very good at opening dialogue to keep the platform moving in the right direction.
I had a quote by @onealfa in the peace section. He is quickly growing his stake on POB with only @leprechaun, @richardcrill and @trostparadox ahead of him. These stakeholders, along with @proofofbrainio are the largest lawmakers on the platform. @madstacks and @vempromundo are also up there. I am sure I missed a few of the big stakeholders.
But all POB-power holders have a say in what the law is on POB.
We know that self voting is a grey area and many people leave their votes off if there is a self vote. There are also those that will abstain from voting and comment if they feel a post is over rewarded. I have not seen a lot of downvotes, but they are here to maintain order. That order can ascend into chaos rather quickly too.
Have your say and keep this platform growing in the right direction.
I feel that first and foremost, the POB platform should focus on good content and strong community. This is a sure method for long term success. We are doing that. We need to keep that up. Good curation is key as good content will always arrive where the rewards are. Conversation before conflict will keep the trending page looking good. My take on the usual issues that circle power are to take care of the platform before yourself to maximize rewards (actually). The rest is usually best solved with a conversation.
Peace and Prosperity on Proof of Brain.