Only Figuratively. Here is Why:

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I would never want to be in the position of some witnesses that have made a name for themselves as a fighter of plagiarism and spam. It is an honorable job, but if I had that task, I would never be able to live comfortably without looking over my back. I would always be wondering if someone was tracking me down and going to attack me. Even though it is possible to be anonymous on Steemit, a witness that would want to rise to top 20 positions will inevitably need to lose their anonymity. The same goes for blacklisters. Every negative action creates enemies. The number of enemies grow over time become massive. How many enemies have they made? Thousands? Tens of Thousands? This will be the unfortunate stain on a witness that they will never be able to remove.

I also think that witnesses involved in creating, operating, and profiting from Upvote Bots will also have “blood on their hands” that they will never be able to remove. I see that Upvote bots are falling out of favor and hatred towards the Upvote Bots is growing. Most people don’t like them. Those that use them feel that they are forced to use them so they can compete. Many witnesses have risen to their position because of developing and operating Upvote Bots. It will be their undoing and they just don’t know it yet. I see a future of resentment towards Upvote Bots so severe, the very mention of them will be like a four-letter word. It will be synonymous with feelings of disgust, resentment, and anger. Those people that are forced into using them will be spared as they are accepted as a reluctant requirement to exist. Those who have abused Upvote Bots will however have “blood on their hands”. Some that have abused Upvote Bots in the past have been hit very hard with downvotes. Let’s not forget what happened to Hive account@jerrybanfield. He used Upvote Bots to get into the top 20 witness throne and was brutally taken down because of his regular abuse of his own Upvote Bot. People may say that it was because of other actions, but the underlying issue was that he was abusing these Upvote Bots and it was causing people to learn to hate him.

There is a reason why I am taking an interest in witnesses involved with blacklisting and Upvote Bots. It has come time for me to decide who I should vote as witness. I feel sorry for the witnesses that have chosen a path of destruction for themselves, but I just can’t give them a sympathy vote. I truly believe to make a better community I need to vote for witness that can actually make a difference. Those who have dug their own grave are not going to be the future of Steemit Witnesses. It is really pointless to vote for them.

I am now asking for your help.

In some cases, it is problematic to determine who has been involved in the development and delegation supporting the Upvote Bots and Blacklisting. For other witnesses it is obvious.

* Can you help me identify witnesses that have not been tainted with Upvote Bots and Blacklisting?

* Can you also help me identify those who have been or now involved with blacklisting and Upvote Bots? This way, I will know who not to vote.

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Please help me to find the witnesses that are free from this stain and are true future leaders.