I guess I really miss something. But why is this trending?
I would call it rather trashing 😋

ye lol think you are correct!

this means some trash on trending list?

:)

https://i.imgur.com/wk4XUO5.png

Haha. I think yes brade.

Exactly, trash seems to be the only thing trending

came across this post today and couldn't stop laughing
Someone was demanding your explanation and your bot's explanation
https://steemit.com/dmania/@gamsam/answer-me-dumb-robot-ipromote-themarkymark-zg1hbmlh-an0hu

Well least someone trying keep this place classy. It’ a shame the dumpster was already full! I sure hope the Steemit landfill does not fill up. We might have to export our garbage to china.

Better yet... the moon! We can drop it off when we get there...

Excellent we drop the deadweight their and then go to Jupiter. We might need some Boring Company Flamethrowers. Some of that rotten garbage just sticks and clings on for dear life; while, trying to squeeze the last breathe out of things.

What kind of content would you like to see? :D

Trash like that is always a bad thing to see. We should always take better care of our planet and clean it up so we have a clean future, my thoughts !! :))

Cleanness is close to Godliness. So keep our environment clean

Sad but true :/

All these can be refined to other valuable products, the planet needs better care

[IMAGE: https://steemitimages.com/DQmRntisvdw23QX1tPkQZsjmQfx2XYLiYavLZQgqourP52P/3062289-inline-i-2-47-ways-to-turn-carbon-dioxide-from-a-planetary-threat-into-a-valuable-product.jpg]

Someone trashed a beautiful green pasture and then the trash got trashed too.

ppl need more than oceans to bury this trash !

Or how I see the trending page and coincidentally why I have a problem with vote bots.

[IMAGE: https://res.cloudinary.com/hpiynhbhq/image/upload/v1520200478/dgsqouyoxw8q5eqbqkat.jpg]

Crappy content isn’t limited to vote bots, that’s just the shit you see. Go have a look at auctionator. No vote bots. I can give tons more.

It's something I've noticed on the crap posts I've looked at, tons of vote bot comments, spam comments, few if any human comments.

Spam comments have shot through the roof this week for some reason. What is worse many of them have links to third party malicious sites.

What's going on is certain groups of people whom I won't name nor their region because of the perpetually offended and perpetually butthurt, have created a list of "comments to use" to copy and paste and instructions on how to go through Steemit to leave the most comments as possible.

Then there's also the issue involving the phishing site Steewit which has been duping gullible users into releasing their private Steemit information and getting their accounts stolen to further propagate the spam making the problem worse.

Any other curious questions you might have?

Very informative information never heard of steewit before. What a shame this place is going this way with all the spam bots. Are their anyways to get rid of them ?

Just try to not make it profitable is all. Not all bots are bad form, but there are a lot of bad bots. It's just worth noting that. ;)

Isn't one man's trash another man's treasure?....the last few days you've been posting video games, I actually wasted my time clicking on that...(lol), then tonight Nonamesleft writes a post about poop.....I usually enjoy the stuff you two post but video games isn't my treasure and poop, well hey...they wasn't much I could find to say about that. lol.

Amazing work @TheMarkyMark, everything you post is always the best.

Upvote #follow #swagmonster365backflip

How does a picture of a trash bin overflowing make 94.42 dollars...and my beautiful picture of a sunset in my home town make .02 cents lol!!!!
Might need to rethink this payment system.
[IMAGE: https://steemitimages.com/DQmPxRj4B4vZdKrwiLtkEXXGxffPQ4H8sGjZ69SxSmCTNDV/FB_IMG_1511422030706.jpg]

It's made nothing yet it has to escape! Will it get away with $470 USD worth I don't see why not. Far worse has made far more. Least this one has meaning which is why you see some interesting votes on it.

But if you consider this valuable...hen it clearly is nothing more then a picture of trash...doesnt that make other posts less valuable????

What is financial value these days? Maybe that is something you will understand over time. It has little to do with the content. You only need to visits trending to see this.

There are far more valuable things here then what this post will payout and the losses the author is expected accrue from how much he spending promoting it.

Will it have the impact he is looking to have? Sadly I don’t think so. It was not here to make me laugh which is all about what it did.

I guess i needed more context with the picture then just it...a few words explaining it would work wonders

Thats a very cool picture, I like it alot. This should be on the trending page! You now have a new follower.

You got a 23.06% upvote from @buildawhale courtesy of @themarkymark!
If you believe this post is spam or abuse, please report it to our Discord #abuse channel.

If you want to support our Curation Digest or our Spam & Abuse prevention efforts, please vote @themarkymark as witness.

Yep I'd like to report some abuse. Some garbage has made it to trending # 153!

i see this everyday, in fact, worse. the foul odour produced will get you whites into an hospital.

Racist much?

This can couse disease in that planet they shouldn't let it get to this extent before the gonna pack it.

I see the hidden message behind this..

No words needed, there has been tons of “garbage” on steemit lately 😂🤣

You got a 58.11% upvote from @upmyvote courtesy of @themarkymark!
If you believe this post is spam or abuse, please report it to our Discord #abuse channel.

If you want to support our Curation Digest or our Spam & Abuse prevention efforts, please vote @themarkymark as witness.

when we go to have a rest on the nature of the debris around us always. it is necessary to take packages and collect everything that was left by people before us. it's a horror, even have garbage cans, people are too lazy to go and clean up after themselves. no one watches this and does not penalise, perhaps that is why in our Republic the people act. and then in late autumn, volunteers come out to remove everything that vacationers left behind....

I've discovered the image presented here today was not a photograph taken by @themarkymark. Since @themarkymark failed to provide a link to the source of this image and indicate that it is not his photograph, I'm left with no other option but to flag the post.

I get the joke, but adding more garbage to the garbage pile that is the trending page is a counterproductive approach to cleaning it up. I think you can do better, @themarkymark.

Have a nice day.

It’s a CC0 image which means no attribution needed commercial or personal use.

If you are going to flag for plagiarism or image theft do some research. I will be returning the favor five fold.

Thanks for pointing that out, after. You could mention that in the post.

The flag stays. I disagree with rewards. I think you can do better. It's not hard to find an image on the internet. This post lacks effort and I feel it doesn't deserve the current $254.35 worth of rewards.

Some people here work incredibly hard and stand no chance to earn something like that. I believe you can do better. I suggest you lead by example.

Have a nice day.

The post isn’t making jack as it will posted at a loss to make a point. There is no requirement to attribute CC0 it is the entire point of the license. You should do some research before flagging for theft.

Disagreement on rewards is fine but that’s not what you claimed. If you think I will profit off this post you are mistaken.

The post is far more than the image. It’s just to make a point.

I didn't accuse you of being a thief. That's on the record.

We cleared that up. I considered removing the flag but decided to leave it for a different reason. That's on the record.

Like I said, I get the joke.

Your potential profit or loss doesn't concern me. I don't care. I know how this place works.

> It’s just to make a point.

It's nothing personal. I'm making a point right now as well. We can all make a point at some point in our lives. I don't think this particular instance of making a point is worth more than nearly all of the other instances of making a point, therefore the flag stays because I disagree with rewards.

> I didn't accuse you of being a thief. That's on the record.

"I've discovered the image presented here today was not a photograph taken by @themarkymark. Since @themarkymark failed to provide a link to the source of this image and indicate that it is not his photograph, I'm left with no other option but to flag the post."

I'm pretty sure that's what that says. Yet you did no research at all. If I blacklisted everyone I knew was a plagiarist or stole images but couldn't prove I'd blacklist half of Steemit. That's irresponsible.

Flag for disagreement, no problems, I'm going to do some disagreeing myself.

> Yet you did no research at all.

I right clicked on the image above, did a quick search in google, found many instances of the image and reported my findings. In nowhere in anything I said were you accused of being a thief. It is standard practice on Steemit to provide sources. Majority of people do it. You eventually cleared that up with everyone, I was satisfied with that. That's all on the record. No amount of spinning what I said or taking things out of context can change that.

Since it seems you're threatening me and since I didn't come here to act petty and get in a flag war with someone who feels like pouting over a $4 flag and since I'm sensing bully tactics, I'll now remove my flag out of fear.

Have a nice day.

Second result.

https://i.imgur.com/dXZj5lf.png
(A well known, CC0 site used by many Steemians)

I'm fine with flagging for disagreement with rewards, I wouldn't have said a thing. I've been flagged many times before for standing up what I believe in, and I'm sure there will be plenty more. In fact I totally expected to be flagged on this post.

I spend a lot of time daily looking through spam and abuse to prevent it being rewarded by my bots. If I flagged/blacklisted without doing research, that would be extremely irresponsible and that's what I have a problem with.

Hell, half the time I know it is stolen/plagiarized but I don't flag or blacklist because I have no proof.

If you checked and just didn't notice, hey we all make mistakes, but I do have a problem with someone flagging for something without doing proper due diligence.

Most people simply indicate "images from pixabay" in their post. That way, everyone knows. They do it as a courtesy to their followers and anyone else who may come across the post. It's a standard practice.

As for everything else you said. Good job. I'd just like to thank you though for showing me your true colors. You mention in this comment above how you can handle flags, and you say it's no issue, yet you threaten me with retaliation.

I think you can do better @themarkymark. I really do.

Good luck to you. I'm glad we had this talk.

"standard practice" but not a necessity.

The threat retaliation is a result of the irresponsible flagging and lack of due diligence and accusing me of something that was false, not because you flagged me.

Thank you for admitting to the threats.

We resolved the issue about the image lacking a source right off the bat. That's on the record. Why you continue to dwell on that doesn't make sense at this point. The flag was then changed to a disagreement with rewards. You're fine with that, but continued to use language which I saw as threats. I wasn't saying they were threats, I simply felt threatened by the words used. You later admitted to threatening me. This is all on the record.

Now, if you guys want to push for positive change around here, just know, we don't get anywhere when all people do is get pissy about flags and start flag wars.

You made a point with your post. This point I made here is valid as well.

So, moving forward, how do we fix this? How do we clean this place up? What do you suggest?

Groups like SteemCleaners need more power and resources to police the platform without requiring end users sacrificing their stake to do it. It's not fair and it isn't going to happen. Spam/Abuse is the #1 thing holding the platform back, the ability to easily manipulate the system for easy money is encouraging endless low effort abuse.

I have another question.

Why is it smaller accounts that purchase votes are more likely to abuse the platform than smaller accounts that do not purchase votes?

Because smaller accounts don't have Steem Power on their own and have to use bots. Whereas without Steem Power and without Bots abuse is pointless as it gains no rewards.

There are people with no Steem Power and spam 10-20 posts a day and don't even use bots, it's just a bunch of 0.00 and 0.01 posts.

Two more questions.

My account was quite small at one point. I actually started with nothing and didn't invest a dime.

What makes you think these smaller accounts have no other option than to use bots?

I noticed many of these spam posts that earn next to nothing are similar to your post here today. Just one picture. No indication of whether it's their photo or free to use or... nothing, just a photo.

How would those 10-20 spam posts with one picture and no words that earn nothing be considered abuse in comparison to this one post of one picture and no words that is now removing over $300 worth or rewards from the pool?

You have been here since Sep 2016, things were very very different back then. I wasn’t around but from what I hear large accounts frequently voted on smaller ones, something that hasn’t happened in a long time. I can’t speak first hand but I have heard it multiple times and from multiple people. Having large $100+ posts (at $0.07 steem) wasn’t impossible for a minnow.

As for the second question, as I spend a lot of time on a daily basis finding spam and abuse there is one rule I follow. I will never blacklist a user based on one post. If I see something I think is spam, plagiarism, or abuse I will look at other posts on the account and look what is their “norm”. Is this a one off post, is it something they do frequently? Only then I will make a ruling on it.

Everyone has a bad post or something many people don’t get, or they forget to cite a source or image, or post a meme from a third party site that they didn’t produce.

It is very difficult because it is very subjective and I tend to be very critical so I have to “hold back” frequently. But I always will judge a user by multiple posts as far back as a few weeks before judging.

Do I think the post is my best work? Absolutely not. It’s a wake up call and a cry for help.

This response doesn't answer my questions, but that's okay.

Also, I don't appreciate how you're trying to tell me things were easy for me. I worked pretty damn hard for what I earned and continue to do so. Downplaying my efforts doesn't sit well with me. You weren't here and you based your response on hearsay. I'm not angry. I do realize that's a common misconception around here, so whatever, I deal with it, it's not the first time I heard it.

> Spam/Abuse is the #1 thing holding the platform back, the ability to easily manipulate the system for easy money is encouraging endless low effort abuse.

You said that.

I suggested you lead by example. You're in a position to do so, so please try. It's a simple request.

Naive new members are misled to believe this post on trending is here because it is popular. Many do not realize this post of yours is on trending because the slot was bought and paid for. They see the money and they want to emulate the effort. One good way to fight:

> Spam/Abuse is the #1 thing holding the platform back, the ability to easily manipulate the system for easy money is encouraging endless low effort abuse.

... is to lead by example. That is why I suggest it.

Now you know why I came here today to get your attention.

I wish you all the best. Thank you for your time. I've upvoted your previous comment 100%, it was the best I could do because I feel time is money and you deserve that at least. There's no hard feelings on this end.

Have a nice day. I'm done here.

> Also, I don't appreciate how you're trying to tell me things were easy for me. I worked pretty damn hard for what I earned and continue to do so. Downplaying my efforts doesn't sit well with me. You weren't here and you based your response on hearsay. I'm not angry. I do realize that's a common misconception around here, so whatever, I deal with it, it's not the first time I heard it.

I was no means saying you didn't work hard, it wasn't an attack. It was a generalization about a well know fact of Steemit. I was saying you most likely could get a $100 post back then far easier (without bots) than you can now. Back then Steem Power was worth far less, so you gained far more Steem Power for those $100 posts.

Here is an example of your account. You can see the massive difference in Steem Power growth back then. I didn't need to be around back then, the data is all publicly available and easily accessible.

https://i.imgur.com/WcfzEh6.png

> Naive new members are misled to believe this post on trending is here because it is popular

This is exactly my point, that is the story of the entire trending page and how it's always the same people with the same voting circles regardless of the content they produce.

> I've upvoted your previous comment 100%, it was the best I could do because I feel time is money and you deserve that at least.

Thanks, I actually appreciated the discussion. It was the point of the post, to create a discussion, it's a lot better than the typical "nice post, upvote follow, vote me" discussion that goes on.

I sent something nice to one of your recent posts.

Now here is what you fail to realize.

Back then, a dollar was a dollar. Let's use round numbers. If my post was worth $1 then, sure, maybe I could get 10 STEEM out of that.

We had no way of knowing the value would rise.

A dollar was a dollar and we carried on.

If it wasn't for our dedication and hard work proving this platform is viable, proving it works, proving it's worth something... You would not be here right now. It was not easier to earn a damn thing back then. It was harder because we did not know where this place was headed. That data does not accurately reflect our experience. Get it? Got it? Good!

Moving On

> Naive new members are misled to believe this post on trending is here because it is popular

> This is exactly my point, that is the story of the entire trending page and how it's always the same people with the same voting circles regardless of the content they produce.

Let me add: Your voting service(as well as the others) contribute to this madness as well. Like it or not, we both know it's true. I can even see a couple of instances of people being misled under your post here today. We both know you purchased votes to get here. Please pay attention to that. You've put yourself in a situation today where you've become part of the problem you wish to solve. Please realize this is not an attack on your character. I am not questioning your integrity. I'm simply speaking on the facts.

One good thing about those who are abusing the bots is how they put themselves so high on the trending page for all to see. It's not everyday a thief walks into a store, announces their name, and politely points out to everyone how they're about to leave the store with as much as they can carry. Those jokers make me laugh every single time.

The downside to that... To be able to flag away something like $800 worth of rewards requires resources this platform simply does not have most days. Again, I'm just using round numbers to keep things simple.

> Thanks, I actually appreciated the discussion. It was the point of the post, to create a discussion, it's a lot better than the typical "nice post, upvote follow, vote me" discussion that goes on.

I can't stand those comments either but that's what most people get on the trending page. Confused minnows looking to brown nose what they think is success. Wasting their votes on this misleading success when they should be out voting for each other to help build up more sizable accounts.

> I sent something nice to one of your recent posts.

I appreciate that.

See you around.

That was a great discussion and I'm glad that these issues are being talked about by people with alot more influence than me. It sounds like you both want the same thing but the solution is illusive.

Hey nonameslefttouse,

did you just flag the person that just wanted to make a point for others to see (and lost money by doing so), but you are leaving people like Haejin, who is making 10 per day to amass as much rewards as possible, without any flag?

Why are you flagging the good guys? :(

Personally, I think everyone should step up and lead by example. I'd like to see some professionalism around here. Actions speak louder than words. I don't care about this point he's trying to make. Nearly all of us make the same goddamn point everyday. What is making the same goddamn point every single day going to prove? Nothing. It's a waste of time. We all know it's garbage, so do something about it. If I stand beside a garbage can, then point at the garbage can and say, "That's garbage," do I sound like a genius or a fucking moron?

So you think this is absolutely right?

Well, at least it started the conversation, didn't it? Now more people understand the problem.

This isn't first or second time. It's the same old story and this discussion will lead to nowhere just like previous ones.

And I think only people who have already understood the problem are taking part in the discussion and for others, it's just another trending post, go through the comments. it won't take anyone longer than a month to understand the situation here.
Have a good time.

Dear,nonameslefttouse I'm not joining you.!!
image theft is not an endless result, we share it on our pages with quotes or samples from some places. Those who think like you or those who write such comments by jealousy say that they do not have any serious information about this issue. They write comments because they do not have any serious information about this issue.

@themarkymark

Who's jealous? What?

I think something got lost in translation here. It's okay. It happens.

Oh! If you think I'm jealous of rewards, you'd be mistaken. This post isn't here because it is popular. The author purchased votes and bought this slot. It's not here because people liked it. You've been misled by the author. Welcome to Steemit!

[IMAGE: https://steemitimages.com/DQmbRjDg3hy1sSvtSc2BmiGPtZmYohs9kLGQevhuzV12cs7/precious_gollum_meme.jpg]

Gosh! how precious can some trash get. I am jeaalouss. My Preciousss. I should have found a Trash can instead of the RING.

“American cities are like badger holes, ringed with trash--all of them--surrounded by piles of wrecked and rusting automobiles, and almost smothered in rubbish. Everything we use comes in boxes, cartons, bins, the so-called packaging we love so much. The mountain of things we throw away are much greater than the things we use.”
― John Steinbeck.

There's an old saying, “one man's trash is another man's treasure,”

Hahahaha!

Over trash. But trash cans in need for us to put something that bad smell is useless inside

Aside from comments, I haven't posted original content to this platform in over two months. Keep up the good fight, though it seems few with sizeable influence are doing so. I don't know how SMTs are going to take the Steem blockchain to the next level when its very rewards distribution model is systemically flawed. Alas, the warning from the Steem White Paper resonates now more than ever before: "Any imbalance in the give and take within a community is unsustainable. Eventually the givers grow tired of supporting the takers and disengage from the community."

I know three people who joined this year and have now left because of the imbalance you speak of. A lot of new comers are seeing this system as a stacked deck and just leave.

It is unfortunate. Quality oversight is terribly lacking on this platform.

Your every post is brilliant and I follow u thanks for sharing

We really need to find a way to fix the issue with trash. Powerful photo!

Every person is free to write what he believes to be good and people are free to upvote what he wrote. Still you are free to express your opinion about all of this. I believe this platform supports the freedom of expression.
But the picture is toooooooooooo ugly :( @themarkymark

It is unfortunate to see this type of image, it is true that it has no source, It is unfortunate to see this type of image, which is true that it has no source, is to see the damage they cause to the environment.

plastic waste is very dangerous, because it is not decomposed by the soil 🤔

Please vote me

https://steemitimages.com/0x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmZ5uQPMbjQzvqDzYJomjRzMFhcqFcRnrWoSVVkktQeEpL/tenor.gif

I will still upvote this post even if it's flagged.

Not all cares about this." Its the thought that counts" as they say.

So you think it is absolutely right to place this post of yours on that #trending to make or show points? Being a witness you didn't find any other better option??

What kind of message are you guys passing to new users by doing so? IMO this kind of joke only increase the abuse and spam.

You are just spreading false messages to the new users or the users who don't have any idea about your so-called sarcasm may be.

On the other hand you are also the same guy who runs some big bots which are responsible for that trending shit.

This only hampers those innocent people and still, there's lots of profit for you guys. You teach/pass this wrong message to innocent users. And when they do the same thing, you call them abuser, remove your bot votes from their posts, even downvote them... Repeat.

Why not to be that change and at least try to spread the good message, as a witness?

I agree with this. I'd like to see some genuine professionalism. This stuff is getting old already. Embarrassing.

I just hope his next post isn't a whiny rebuttal, complete with screenshots of the conversation here where things are taken out of context. Another long list of account names might show up while he attempts to show the "good" he's doing for the community by blacklisting people. Maybe some signs of frustration and a touch of the victim card. I'm not saying he will do that, but I've seen it in the past. I'd prefer to see something good come out of this.

Have a nice day.

Generally, I try to keep myself away from these kinds of stuff/conversation because I have seen many accounts damaged although they had genuine/honest valid points unfortunately all against some big users. But sometimes it's too much, especially when I see the same users who were pretending(I feel this better suitable seeing the actions) to stop such activities and always talk/complain about the improvement of the community and such stuff.

> I just hope his next post isn't a whiny rebuttal, complete with screenshots of the conversation here where things are taken out of context.

So when I feel to involve in this type of discussion I have to be prepared for some turbulent responses and bunch of flags.

> So when I feel to involve in this type of discussion I have to be prepared for some turbulent responses and bunch of flags.

## Just As I said.

I was already threatened. I'm not sure why a witness would do that on a blockchain near the top of a trending page and for all to see. It's unfortunate. Doesn't make much sense. Talking is so much easier.

Edit: I should add, later on, we both did end up talking out our problems. I have to give him credit for that.

Glad to know that, many things can be solved just having some clear conversation here, but it's sad most of them prefer the other way...

One of the people directly responsible for the trash on the front page, complains about trash by adding more trash.. That makes perfect sense :O

lol

My bot cannot trend a post, it is capped to prevent such a thing.

that's why I said "one of the people". It's not a coincidence that almost all the trending garbate posts have an upvote by buildawhale, including this one.

The majority of trending doesn't use or need @buildawhale or any bot. The ones you are referring to are the ones that break out of the system. If it is something that falls under a category I can do something about, I will prevent that from happening.

Every platform out there (Google, Bing, Facebook, Twitter, even Amazon) has a way to buy advertising to increase your visibility by being on the front page.

Everyone here has a way to collectively decide what shouldn't be there.

Ah. Okay. I read through a substantial amount of comments on this post, and while I instantly understood that this was meant to be a jab at trending, I'm still trying to comprehend what you were trying to accomplish with it.
I imagine that you probably got enough shit for it that you won't do something similar again, but just in case you weren't absolutely sure this was a terrible idea, I wanted to bring that point home.
Admittedly I might be a little irritated with your assumption that an early start on the platform means that we had an easier time making money. When steem was worth, oh I don't know, fifteen cents? And none of us could be sure it would ever be worth something substantial, but we kept going anyway? I'll tell you one thing that has changed since then-- there were no upvote bots. There was no vote buying period.

> So you think it is absolutely right to place this post of yours on that #trending to make or show points? Being a witness you didn't find any other better option??

Trending is the best way to get a discussion going. As a witness, I have no special power to change anything more than anyone else. I can bring it up until I am blue in the face in the back channels, but it doesn't change it.

> You are just spreading false messages to the new users or the users who don't have any idea about your so-called sarcasm may be.

What false message and how does it differ from the false message of all the posts that are there now, was there yesterday, the day before, and 6 months ago? New users follow, vote, and resteem on these posts on a daily basis following the false messages laid out by the established.

> On the other hand you are also the same guy who runs some big bots which are responsible for that trending shit.

My bot can't trend shit, I have actively put a cap that is low enough you can't get on trending, it is the aggregate of the 50+ bots that exist and grows on a daily basis. I actively monitor and blacklist people posting shit (as long as I have something actionable like spam, plagiarism, content theft, fraud, scam).

> Trending is the best way to get a discussion going.

If you yourself take it that way then there's no meaning of complaining about it, others might want that slot for the same purpose- discussion/visibility.

> What false message and how does it differ from the false message of all the posts that are there now, was there yesterday, the day before, and 6 months ago?

Again when you can't change your own mindset how could you expect the change from others? Or you just didn't read that bold sentence I put at last of my comment?-"Why not to be that change and at least try to spread the good message, "

> My bot can't trend shit, I have actively put a cap that is low enough you can't get on trending, it is the aggregate of the 50+ bots that exist and grows on a daily basis.

Yes there many bots responsible for this and you can't simply deny the fact that your bots are also the part of them and hold huge contribution.

And please take my thoughts/views as professional and not personal. I commented here because you made this post not others.So I think I am right to point out about you than other here in your post.

I also agree.
I even wonder how many new users are there?
And then I'm not referring to the number of subscribers, but the number of newbies that are active after 1 month?

happy that your post is trending one

Hey thank for the comment, as a new user I was a little confused about the used #trending, as a photo fan I really like the picture.

This post was actually more useful than I thought, It helped to reveal the people who care and have the right mindset like @transisto and @sjennon :)

Oh damn, always the same content, stop it with your repetitive posts Mark, Iliterally see this same style every single day, every single hour.

Edit: Seems like no one got the joke by reading the comments. On the other hand, I´m not sure a lot of people will get the message behind this highly paid, low quality post.

Nice post brother

Ciyee yg trending 😁

The changes that were introduced with HF19 gave rise to a new pay for exposure economy. Community approval can now be bypassed easily and what we see on trending is the result of this. You are contributing to this economy with your own service - so what is the point you want to make with this post exactly?

Probably we should say thanks to these guys for our Trending.
[IMAGE: https://res.cloudinary.com/hpiynhbhq/image/upload/v1520253581/rvcr9ordb071gprff3pq.jpg]

In this case they made 95% of payout
[IMAGE: https://steemitimages.com/DQmPwV8KdX4kjz1JLuALgfHFiozuS7pddJm6aBrqZVBwPv6/UpBots1.JPG]

They make our Trending Page, they decide for all the Steemians, which of the contributions bring the most value to the community. Unfortunately, real human votes are no longer needed to determine the value of content.

Actually, my current stance on bid bots is neutral. But I find it odd when someone who fuels the pay for exposure economy bemoans it's inevitable consequences.

BTW, this analysis here may interest you. According to this estimation, roughly one sixth of the daily reward pool is currently allocated by bid bots.

I would understand if this meme was placed by some of the newcomers as a sign of utter despondency and disappointment.
But on the part of the bid-bot owner and Steemit delegate, who has a reputation and a rather large SteemPower, it looks at best as a recognition of his own helplessness / unwillingness to do something, and at worst - as a mockery of all Steemians. IMO

I would exclude the worst case assumption, but otherwise, I remain puzzled over the intent of this post.

Absolutely. I'd say the message is self evident, like the author trying to pull a Marcel Duchamp. And I'd call it art too if it weren't for the blatant mocking of Steemit users. I'm try to learn from those things a lesson about whales toxicity

You're spot on, @shaka. And that's why it's also not suprising that the author doesn't answer your question :-) Wie sagt man so schön: wer im Glashaus sitzt, sollte nicht mit Steinen werfen...

Hi Marly,

just to clarify my stance, I don´t criticize anyone for providing a service that is a logical consequence of the economic changes that were introduced with HF19 (delegations and linear rewards). As sad as it may be, bid bots won't go away as long as no systematic changes are (re)introduced. Counting on unselfish or community oriented behaviour is an understandable expectation, yet an expectation that inevitably results in disappointment whenever money is involved. So what we observe is a matter of how the incentives are currently set.

Still, it remains elusive to me which message @themarkymark aims to convey with this post. To me it seems as if an ad broker would complain that there are to many ads around. It´s his business and he is free to run it. However, complaining about the logical outcome of this business is weird (assuming now, that the message of this post is some sort of a complaint).

Cheers!

Totally got it and support your point of view!

I believe bid bots are completely against the decentralized belief. I'd like to quote a tweed from Dan Larimer to underline that:
[IMAGE: https://steemitimages.com/DQma6jh6EhRAp51v1CY6H2di2yJ9MLu3GCxFXrg7Ei4byia/dan.png]

It's definitely a design problem in first instance. Apparently we accept that there is no economical circle anymore - like the one that was designed when Steem was launched. Now money just flows into one direction - from the bottom to the top. Bid bots are not designed to support minnows, they're designed to take away their money.

I'm pretty curious if SMTs will be able to fix these fundamental issues.

My response above.

Actually, I just did respond when I had a chance to catch up, but thanks stopping by.

PS: Don't forget that this is a troll-free zone

Actually, most of trending is Adsactly, Jerry Banfield, Haejin, Utopian, Sweetssj, none of which is the result of Bid Bots (yes I know Jerry is a bid bot, but his trail is more than enough to trend him). The majority of the posts on trending are the same authors and the result of vote circles and personal steem power and nothing to do with bid bots.

Bid bots are promotional tools, aka advertising. Like every platform on the Internet (Google, Twitter, Facebook, Yahoo, Bing, Etc.) those who pay are promoted and have much more visibility.

The ones who abuse it (with spam, scams, fraud, plagiarism, and some other form of abuse) I address by blacklisting, something other bots don't actively do.

The amount of posts in trending as a result of bid bots is a small percentage, and even of those, they would have been on trending without it as they already have hundreds of dollars worth of votes.

I have no problem if someone uses a bid bot to boost to trending, my bot or another. That's how every media platform in the world works, pay for promotion, get seen. What I do have a problem the amount of garbage and spam on this platform (80-90%?) and how established vote circles dominate trending regardless of quality.

Proof of brain here is totally broken, so saying that is what the platform is about and how it should work is a moot argument as unless your cute, pay off people, have enough steem power to create a big voting circle, you won't get noticed in all the noise ( remember that 80-90%).

No need to defend your service against me. I questioned the intent of your post, not the service that you are providing. I accept the existence of bid bots and I can even see reasonable use cases for them. Still, bid bots add another vector to bypass community approval (or proof of brain if you wish) and thus I find it strange if you complain about an outcome that you are actually enabling.

True, as of now, voting circles and other sort of deals extract significantly more from the reward pool compared to the aggregate of bid bots.

Thanks for your reply!

When I started @buildawhale there were very few bots, and now there are a ridiculous amount of bots and more coming daily.

This the result of a lot of things, but I think a lot of it has to do with low morale and the fact this is seen as the only profitable action on Steem right now.

As for why I did the post, mainly because I just snapped. Got sick of the huge voting circles getting free passes to trending, while exploiting the system. I knew people would bring up the bot angle and would be the primary focus, but it really isn't even remotely close the root issues going on.

I wanted to start a discussion, and unless I am on trending, I don't have the influence to do that. So like any good marketer, I bought it.

I make sure I didn't overdo it, I could have easily put it at #1 spot on trending for days, but I made sure it was high enough to be seen but not high enough to stick.

Well, I think those who followed you in doing what you started doing early on shouldn't be blamed for having a low morale. Under current circumstances bid bot providers are doing what is economically sound to do. If enough of the stake here is not happy with the outcome of this economy then the system parameters have to be changed. To repeat what I said in another comment, counting on morale or community-oriented behaviour is an expectation that will always be disappointed when there is money to be earned.

As for the root cause, to me it's the introduction of delegations and linear rewards that marginalized community approval as a factor for reward allocation. And both, the bid bot economy and voting circles have been fueled by these changes. Yes, voting circles have existed before, yet were a phenomenon that required whale participation. Now we have these circles throughout the entire stake-holder hierarchy.

So if changes are introduced that counter voting circles you will probably erode the economic viability of bid bots, too.

What I meant about low morale, is many people are discouraged and jaded right now in general with how things are and where they are going.

The SBD pump has also dramatically changed the game and how people interact with the platform.

This is not good

This is breathtaking...

Congratulations @themarkymark, this post is the most rewarded post (based on pending payouts) in the last 12 hours written by a Hero account holder (accounts that hold between 10 and 100 Mega Vests). The total number of posts by Hero account holders during this period was 375 and the total pending payments to posts in this category was $7878.12. To see the full list of highest paid posts across all accounts categories, click here.

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There is need to manage such waste and perhaps land fills and other facilities to handle such wastes can work so efficiently but not forgetting the recycling mechanism. I suppose that criteria can serve the desired purpose in waste handling.

It took me a second but that's rather funny.

Sad

Amazing @themarkymark

When last did you upvote a very good post randomly and not with favourism? This I think is what prompted users to buy votes, if Whales and Dolphins plus witness are busy upvoting each other and never support minnows; I think they should help themselves to be on the trending page by all means necessary.

Goot..
Vote cocosteven

WOW!
I would like to know why you did this?!

I'vote, vote back please

Congratulations @themarkymark!
Your post was mentioned in the Steemit Hit Parade in the following category:

• Pending payout - Ranked 7 with $ 331,69

Well, I posted a solution for your trash problem but it seems nobody cares for it (yet):
https://steemit.com/utopian-io/@steemhq/how-to-make-steem-great-again-the-exponential-author-reward-method

Gotta upvote this, just to bring it to everybodys attention/discussion.

This really is trash.

I even wonder how many new users are there?
And then I'm not referring to the number of subscribers, but the number of newbies that are active after 1 month?

You should follow @paulag, she's got the answers to all of your questions :-)

ok my bro.

sis wold be actually more accurate in this case :)

Accounts created in last 7 days

https://i.imgur.com/3syh33l.png

Active Accounts

219,577 unique accounts have voted in the last 30 days.

this post is garbage!.....literally lol 😎

Good job @themarkymark

https://media.giphy.com/media/ktcUyw6mBlMVa/200.gif

when this garbage get more upvote than your content

There are a lot of issues on this platform right now. Trending is one big issues that needs to be brought up. Some have and will continue to make a point of this problem. From bernie to transisto to the minnows who are struggling. Some will continue to purge off the hard working content providers by posting crap (IE: crypto charts 10 times a day) and getting circle jerked to the top. Some of these issues will work them selves out over time. I think @themarkymark had the right intention in this post. He didn't do it to make money. He wants to draw attention to an issue. Sometimes it takes throwing your self out there to do this.

I know themarkymark reasonably well and I feel that while he is catching a lot of grief for this post, think about the fact that he is drawing attention to the issue. He writes some damn good informational posts that many have benefited from. Understand the source.

Some try to take advantage while others try and do good for the community. This is one attempt at good, whether you feel it was successful or not.

What I find interesting is many whales only care about trending, and could care less about rewards and reward pool abuse. Many will only react or even be upset if trending is compromised but could care less if someone walks away with thousands/day posting garbage.

Very interesting post ..teaching us a great lesson...thumbs up..

really great post very useful for me, thank you for vote and post your comment please follow me, please help me same with you, good friends