Drama is not usually far behind. Proof of Brain turned into a money printing machine about a month or a month and a half ago when the token really increased in value. In April, POB's were going for 0.2 Hives and today, they are closer to 2. Not quite 10x... but, they did sell up above 10 Hive recently. Where is the top?
When top trending posts can gross as much as $100 USD, POB is pretty much the most lucrative place to post. There will always be drama when people are cooperatively splitting up assets. Everyone is entitled and there is never enough to go around.
The funny thing is... I don't know if anyone hanging around on POB should really be complaining! I have read countless articles by people who were just peons on Hive who now are top grossing authors on POB. I am one of them... but I am certainly not alone. The opportunity that I found by getting involved in this platform is really spectacular and I am grateful for being on it.
There is good drama, like what you would see on Netflix. The rest of it is likely not worth it and usually does more damage than good. Most people want to read something good, start up a conversation and maybe make a couple bucks in the process. Good content is everywhere on POB right now. I hope that we can keep our focus on good content. Good content and great rewards is what is setting POB above the curve, the tokenomics don't hurt either.
POB has had some discussions about self voting. The general consensus is that it is frowned upon. There are also exceptions. If I do a POB-fund Friday post that is 100% going to the POB-fund... I'm gonna self vote. If 
The Hive blockchain allows self voting. The Hive Blockchain also allows downvotes. Those are the two main rules with voting. Obviously there is voting mana and all these other mechanisms which complicate my point. The blockchain sets the RULES. The community sets the standard - which become the rules. One fact is really clear... the RULES trump the rules.
We are all free to use our stake as we see fit. We are also free to accumulate as much stake as we want / can afford to. The blockchain is and always has been for sale, as long as there is liquid on the market. Justin Sun bought it once already. He, or any other person rich enough could afford to buy it. This is the reality that all of us have signed up for on this blockchain. If you don't want the chain to be bought, encourage staking and talk about why it is important. Hive Power Up Day is one such initiative along that vein.
There are protections in place that guard against centralization and abuse. There are also costs to using them. Hive was formed to protect the decentralized blockchain from the majority stakeholder (Justin Sun) attack. Hive was formed and it was a major victory for decentralization. It cost us St**m. Many people were not able to withdraw/access their funds due to tyranny / war (on both sides). Creating a new blockchain was a last resort... and it was costly to both sides. War ALWAYS is.
Anybody that joined up on St**m during the Justin Sun debacle probably left within a minute. The trending page was full of war cries, hate memes etc. No newcomer could fathom the events or the content, because we were caught up in the drama. Behind the scenes the solution was already built and it just needed to be released. The drama, perhaps necessary in that instant, was not a good look.
Fighting for Proof of Brain is simple. Create good content. Reward good content.
Everything else is likely a step too far.
We are free to self vote, and down vote. We are free to mention this in our posts and let people know that "self voting is frowned upon here on POB." But the RULES state otherwise. Take notes and vote accordingly.
We are free to vote how we please. We are free to look at how others use their stake and form opinions about them. All of this is in the RULES.
We are free to amass a huge stake and make sure 100% of all votes are exhausted each and every day to ensure maximum curation rewards. This is guaranteed to us in the rules. It doesn't stop you from throwing a downvote into the mix... also allowed.
There are many who feel that Hive is the first DeFi platform and that we should all just be getting these rewards based on stake alone. No POB necessary. That is how DeFi works, the POB is just an extra distribution mechanism. I feel the POB mechanism has its charm and wouldn't give it up, but it also shows the ugly side of humanity. Even when we are creating wealth from thin air, we find reasons to fight about it. We are entering an age of abundance that blockchain is ushering in. No need to fight about it, there is more than enough.
If you pick a fight with someone who is playing by the RULES... you have already lost. The best way to make Proof of Brain a great place to be is to... make Proof of Brain a great place to be. Make great content. Reward great content. Make contests. Make them rewarding. Create new ways to engage. Tell people outside of POB to use the tag and get on board. Make it great by being great here! Simple.
Using the front end is not required to be well rewarded. I know 
If you have a beef with the RULES, it is time to create your own tribe or blockchain where you think we can do better. If you don't like how some people play the game, you have tools at your disposal. The downvote is one. Opening up dialogue is another. Starting Drama on the trending page should be saved for Justin Sun 2.0. When someone has acquired 51% stake on POB... let's get some drama started... but by then, I will have found the 5500 BEE or whatever the cost is, and I will have already started a new tribe called Proof of Intelligence where a few new RULES will be applied to protect things from happening the way they did.
We are really far from having problems on POB. Things are great. Let's not intentionally make things shitty here by kicking bees nests instead of focusing on great content. This is the key to making POB great. Upvote, downvote, discuss what we can do to make POB better... these are all good things... but let's focus on keeping people here with great content and great rewards, otherwise, something else will pop up, everyone will go there, POB will plummet, in both users and token value, and we will be left like a popup DeFi platform used and abused and everyone will be off on the next hype train chasing better gains.
Keep making POB great. Keep fighting for things you can control and let go of the things that you cannot control. The RULES will always trump the rules... so vote and downvote accordingly and know that some fights are better left unfought. Proof of Brain will be great if we keep making it great. My upvote has some weight to it and if you have been around for a few weeks, yours likely does too.
I remember watching 
The real winners will keep on encouraging the platform that we want to see. Great content, great curation, great rewards, a great place to invest. It is not that hard... let's keep working in that direction.
The Potential that we are currently actualizing is real. Many people say POB is hands down the best tribe on the blockchain. We are doing so many things right. Let's keep the momentum going in this direction.
I would love for you to weigh in on this and let me know what you think. Comment below and I will do my best to comment back.
All images were from this website
