Show respect to all people, but grovel to none.
- Tecumseh -
Around late October I took a call from a chap who needed money quite urgently. I'd got him into stacking silver three years earlier and he had a stack hidden away which he offered to me for the equivalent in cash. You can read about the situation here if you are so inclined.
Earlier today he called me and wanted to meet for a coffee which is happening tomorrow. You see, he has half the money and wanted to buy his silver back, which I was happy to agree to of course, as was the arrangement. We locked it in.
The idea was that he would buy back the silver as he could afford to do so and I'd sell it back to him at the same price I paid for it, no matter what the spot price was on the day.
Sure, I could lose out, but it was a help a mate thing not a make money thing and I was happy to do it that way. He'd promised to pay me a ten percent loading on top to make it worth my while but I wasn't going to lose or gain and the $700 in interest wasn't going to make or break me. Also I know his financial position isn't all that strong so, same price.
It's only been a few months since we did the transaction but it seems he's back on track, his wife has picked up a job finally, and he wanted his silver back...Well, half at least as he only has the money for half. He'll deal with the rest later.
I'll be honest and say I'm not one to ask for help much and I'd never ask for money. Ever. I'd rather go without. I don't judge my mate though, not at all. His daughter needed treatment he couldn't afford so I was happy to make the exchange - It's not like I was going to be at a loss and he'd always had the intention of buying it all back if he could - I was just caretaking it for a while.
What I really like about it is the fact he didn't even think about simply asking me, or anyone, for money. He wanted to exchange - give something to get something - not get a free ride. I respect that.
Meanwhile on hive
I had a conversation yesterday with a long-time and well-respected Hive user about vote-begging; something we both dislike passionately. It happens on back-channels like Discord and openly on the blockchain where people shamelessly say things like:
Yes, that's an actually comment someone made on the blockchain.
It's a similar situation when people tag multiple larger accounts, clearly hoping to gain upvote-traction, even when those accounts have nothing to do with the post they are tagged in! And yeah, who can forget those who endlessly tag the whales hoping for an upvote. I don't know, to me it seems a little like begging and begging never sat well with me, nor will it.
Anyway, the user I was talking with is sick of it and those that do it as am I. It's not a very good look for the blockchain and whilst it mainly comes from only a select couple of groups it reflects on everyone.
Ah hell, maybe I'm just old-fashioned with my belief that a person needs to earn what they get rather than simply tap someone on the shoulder then put their hand out with the expectation of money falling into it. Am I? Is my thinking obsolete and irrelevant? Or...Is the reward gained for valid-effort-paradigm still alive and well? What do I know, I'm just a fucken knucklehead.
A hive questionnaire
Anyway, I thought I'd run a little questionnaire below in the comments. It's easy, all you need to do is follow the instructions below.
If you agree with begging for votes, you are a vote-beggar yourself, a big-account-tagger, or you simply want to get rewarded for doing very little and producing low-quality posts then...
Comment below with:
"Begging on hive is glorious, legit and I love doing it!"
Who knows, someone might throw some votes your way and it might actually be worth your while...Sit back and watch those millions roll in. Oh yeah, don't forget to tag all the larger accounts...I'm sure they'll appreciate that; shower you with votes, and love and adoration and follow your content forever. It'll be glorious and legit.
I'm looking forward to seeing my mate tomorrow, getting an update on his daughter and taking the opportunity to tell him how happy I was to help him out. Don't forget though, all you vote-beggars, make sure you get your response to the Hive questionnaire, into the comments below - You'd not want to miss out on the chance to highlight yourself in such a valuable way right?
Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default - Tomorrow isn't promised so be humble and kind
Begging me for votes will gain you none...Or maybe just downvotes
The image is my own