Just wanna explore this train of thought tonight: what if Steem's distribution is automatic? That is, we do not vote to distribute at all. Instead, the protocol distributes Steem according to an evolving set of rules set forth by the community, through on-going discussions. All payouts are made accordingly to this set of rules that can be inspected on the blockchain, so perhaps it's a setup that's much better for user experience and satisfaction? There's nothing to be butthurt about. Just let the algorithms do their job. But these algorithms are not exactly closed rulesets. They're open to be re-wired by the community through discussion.
Even if the algorithm doesn't seem like it's working in favour of a better Proof-of-Brain algorithm, hey the next best thing is to have fun discussing to improve the rules and make the money part more like an invisible background thing for 99% of users. Anyone who wants to evolve the Steem-distribution rules are free to do so through discussion.
Maybe then, this will really boost Steem's adoption as an everyday social tool. Note that our discussions are really just computer programs that are logically-intertwined with the distribution-ruleset. Think of it as voting through discussions. We don't have to tick boxes and all of that, just chit chat like we usually do, albeit in more formalised ways, maybe. This technological stack isn't in existence yet, but hopefully soon!
Anyway, it'd be interesting to find out what Steem users think about Steem's rules for distribution in all kinds of dimensions: from content to account activity. Speed posters are always going to earn more, unless community guidelines are strengthened and somehow limits such a thing in the automated distribution algorithm. But will that be social?
Sub-communities may operate on different rules, which like Steem, can be discussed as well. But fully-automated distribution ruleset in the protocol level may be too much, although honestly I think it has the shape of a good consumer product. We can "like", but they're not tied to any Steem distribution. The distribution happens automatically, and you can trace the line of logic and mathematics involved in producing the numbers for all post payouts.
Obvious problem with this implementation is as always, creative sybils and spammers that just play the numbers game to leech off the system while adding unnecessary bloat to it. So some decentralised judiciary system may be required to blacklist / whitelist. And what happens to Steem Power? What role will it have? Some kind of modifier? What happens to curation rewards? So many questions. But maybe best to make this an automated curation account with open-ended rules where users can delegate, profit, and improve distribution. However, as highlighted in one of my previous posts, distributive behaviours are currently limited by the lure of self-voting / vote-trading profitability.
Just an idea with many holes - maybe reserve this for some SMT lol.
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