I like certain types of content on Steem. I have given support to users that post content I value. Some users might have noticed I stopped voting on their posts, even though I used to support them at some point. Some users I have given 100% upvotes to, no longer get any upvotes from me.
Why did I do this? Why did I stop upvoting their posts, even though the content is still what I like and value?
The answer is likely that either they have been using bidbots to buy votes and I finally noticed (buying votes after I cast them where I have to check the past posts to know what they've been doing), or they started to use bidbots to buy votes (I see the bidbots used before I vote). Even if it's not all the time for each post, if I see they've used bidbots now and then, I don't know if they stopped using them and if they will use it on a post I vote for after I give my vote. I don't want to support bidbots, so I stop voting for users whose activity shows they have or are buying votes. I've done this since the first bidbots appeared last year.
The only way for bidbots to not be supported is for users to not use them. And the only way for users to not use them is to realize that they are not beneficial to a platform where content is supposed to be primarily evaluated and ranked by what others value in it, not by buying votes and buying your way up to appear as if your post is actually valued by others.
Some people don't care about the better way for a platform to operate, and only want to get more rewards or more visibility and get more voters by appealing to the bandwagon effect of popularity and riding the curation wave. Some are sharks who just want to exploit whatever method they can to make money and climb up the ladder, rather than earn their way there with time, effort, energy, dedication, determination and persistence.
In order for those people who use bidbots to stop using bidbots, pressure needs to be applied. How to do that? Stop supporting them, stop giving them your votes, stop commenting on their posts, stop feeding them the attention they think they can buy. I don't really support flags, as some of you may know I have issues with this "feature". Removal of support is better than an attack with flags.
Imagine if the only votes people who use bidbots get is from their own vote buying?
Imagine if the only comments people who use bidbots get is from the bidbot comments?
Would they get the message, or would they just keep doing it anyways?
I have been against bidbots since they first appeared in 2017. They are not in alignment with the evaluation of content to be rewarded by others. A platform where people can buy votes to make money or gain popularity is not an honest platform where content is actually being evaluated by others in order to rise.
Here are some of my posts from the past 2 months about bidbots, and some thing to consider about how beneficial they actually are for the platform.
- Reputation Can Be Purchased Through Vote Buying - Does it Matter?
- Do I Like Vote Buying Bots? No (Just to Be Clear)
- Steem is a Free Market, Therefore Buying Votes is Voluntary and Not a Problem (or is it?)
I recently did a witness interview where I spoke negatively against bidbots again. This might be why I lost more witness support and dropped 12 spots in the witness list overnight (as I recently mentioned to 
If you want to support a witness who sometimes speaks up on these issues (as opposed to never), please consider voting for me. I'm no tech genius to make apps for the platform, I'm not ROI or investor focused, but I have a goal of trying to share knowledge of how to better ourselves and the world, and want to use Steem to do so. That's how I can help Steem. I have said so in my first month on the platform in 2016, and in my witness declaration post.
I post about topics related to making things better because I want things to get better. I see problems and their cause, and I talk about it. If you value or appreciate what I do and want to support me as a witness, look at the bottom of this post for how to vote for me as a witness.
Thank you for your time and attention. Peace.
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My goal is to share knowledge, truth and moral understanding in order to help change the world for the better. If you appreciate and value what I do, please consider supporting me as a Steem Witness by voting for me at the bottom of the Witness page.