LOTUS is the name of the native token of naturalmedicine.io and will be rewarded to creators and curators who have that tag staked - or, ‘powered up’ - in Steem-Engine.
Anyone who creates content on the Steem blockchain and includes the tag #naturalmedicine will receive a proportionate amount of LOTUS as well as the usual STEEM/SP/SBD rewards and any other token that they have powered up - or ‘lotussed up’ in the case of LOTUS.
Staking is the same as ‘powering up’ STEEM. It gives you more voting influence on posts and comments. Having more LOTUS POWER (LP) also increases the amount of curation rewards and new vested tokens that you can earn. The higher your LOTUS POWER, the more your vote is worth. We talk you through how to ‘stake’ your LOTUS here
'Burning' means taking the token out of general circulation; this helps improve the economy of a token by reducing supply. This is especially important in all economic systems on the Steem blockchain, because of the natural levels of inflation built into the system to enable people to vote - and therefore continue to earn - tokens.
Anyone can burn any amount of LOTUS at any time, and the process is easy: simply send the amount you wish to 'burn' to the 
If you can read the post on any other Steem-based platform, such as Steempeak, PALnet, or Steemit, then when you vote (up or down) it will receive a proportionate amount of reward from the total reward pool of STEEM or SP (Steem Power) just as it usually does.
If you have LOTUS staked, and you vote a #naturalmedicine post on Steempeak, PALnet, or Steemit or other front end, they will still earn LOTUS. However, if you use naturalmedicine.io, it’s far easier to see who is using that tag and its associated tags; and if you’re into natural healing, its far easier to see people posting content that you want to read and curate.
Yes, absolutely! If you’re busy mooning over mushrooms, hoorahing over homesteading, or drooling over a healthy food recipe on naturalmedicine.io, it’ll also show up on Steemit, PALnet, Creativecoin, Weedcash or any other front end you desire to use!
#naturalmedicine is the tag that was established by the NaturalMedicine Community to identify posts that cover content related to the concept. It’s easily recognisable, especially to those who have been interacting with our community for a while. Most people are familiar with this tag and what it might mean.
However, LOTUS is easy to remember, and has a symbolic meaning. The saying goes “no mud, no lotus” - that is, the hard work we do inevitably results in something beautiful. This might be a ‘reward’ or the joy of engaging with others who are sharing their knowledge and experience with us.
Clicking on the “My Wallet” link on naturalmedicine.io will show you how much ‘liquid’ LOTUS you have, how much LOTUS you have staked (as LP), and also how much STEEM, SP, SBD (Steem Dollars), and other SCOT-tokens you own.
If you use any of the hashtags on naturalmedicine.io as well as the tag #naturalmedicine, they will appear first and foremost on this site and have the chance to gain more LOTUS. We include lots of tags related to health and healing, from cannabis and CBD to yoga and herbalism, spirituality and meditation. Anyone viewing from outside of Steem might notice your posts as they view our site, so it’s worth having a look at what tags we showcase.
For example, if you write a post on foraging for ink-capped mushrooms, you might use the tag #naturalmedicine, #mushrooms, #foraging and any other tag you like. Steempeak allow up to ten tags.
It’s very hard to estimate the value of a token with a fluctuating market. The real value we see is the ability to connect like-minded people. In the future, this might involve marketplaces, workshops, advertisements and lots of fun functions. We invite the community to bring forth their ideas and invite suggestions.
Yes you can. In the right hand side where you found these FAQ, you'll see two links - one to 'Steem Engine' and one to 'Steem-Leo'. Both have the trading DEX for LOTUS, and you simply log in with the SAME keys you did to log on with this site.
For Steem-engine, please follow these instructions
For Steem-Leo, which we highly recommend for the ease and speed of this DEX, you will find it more intuitive - if not, please ask in our Discord (link below). Simply log in with your steem key and you can buy LOTUS from there.
Absolutely! You can do what you like with your LOTUS, and it’s a brilliant way to invite people to follow you and upvote your own blog. It’s also a really fun way to connect with other like minded people.
Curating is how you create what your personal content feed will look like, and what you think deserves a greater (or lesser) share of the rewards pool. We like to reward the under-rewarded and new, especially if they’re great posts. The more we vote, the more ‘value’ they gain, and the more likely they are to stick around. We really believe in engagement. Spend ten minutes a day reading and commenting, or three times a week. The more you do so, the more value you add to this token, as well as showing the world that this space is valuable and important.
Any content that doesn’t align with the values of Natural Medicine. We believe in kindness above all, and originality is important. Bidbots are a contentious issue on Steem, but then some excellent writers use bidbots. Use your discretion. Plagiarism is definitely something to downvote, as are any other posts that are brief, lack real information and might be misleading. Use your discretion, but don’t be afraid to downvote. You have a few free downvotes a day that come from a separate reward pool, so don’t be scared of downvoting as it will not lower your LP.
We’ve put together a document called Guidelines For Creating & Curating Content On Natural Medicine which gives you a framework for you to start off with.
And don’t forget, that this ONLY affects the reward pool of LOTUS, and not any other SCOT-Tribe or the wider STEEM reward pool!
@downlotus or another @-lotus account. What can I do about this?If this happens, first and foremost do not take it personally. It just means that curators and moderators believe what you posted was not appropriate for the platform, or has somehow moved outside of the stated [community standards and guidelines].
Please read Guidelines For Creating & Curating Content On Natural Medicine for the process of what you can do to appeal this and prevent it from happening in the future.
Please go to the #downlotus-appeals channel in the Natural Medicine Discord server and request assistance. The
Yes, absolutely. You can find it here: https://steempeak.com/tribes/LOTUS/ - for those who don't know what Steempeak is, it's just another way to experience the Steem blockchain, and you log in with your posting key. You'll find it has a few more functions than Steemit.com, and you can save your drafts there too.
In the Natural Medicine Discord server, we gather to discuss all kinds of topics, (and not always natural medicine related!) Often, we’re just there to chat and support each other, and sometimes we might have a question such as “has anyone used plantain before?” or “does anyone know a good cure for sinusitis?” There’ll always be someone to answer your call or point you in the right direction.
You also get advance warnings about competitions where you can win STEEM or LOTUS, and we have two post-promotion channels - one to curate other people’s links, and one to advertise your own. We reward the higher-tier delegators with daily upvotes on their posts if they are a whitelisted author (this means that they write quality posts, and at least a couple of natural medicine related posts a fortnight).
We constantly work on updates and initiatives that make this the fastest-growing and strongest health community on the Steem blockchain. None of this is possible without delegation, as it gives us the extra Steem Power (SP) to support you. By earning curation rewards, we can continue to make this a great place to be, and help nurture your own Steem goals.
Community is important - and it’s very much about giving and receiving. If you have under 150SP, you just need to say so, and you’ll be allowed in for free. We do hope if you benefit from being part of our community at all, you’ll come back and delegate when you are able to do so. We also have community members willing to delegate and follow you to help you on your journey to Minnowhood (that’s over 500SP).
For all your questions about how the Steem blockchain works, check out the general FAQ here https://steemit.com/faq.html. If you’re still unsure, don’t hesitate to ask in our Discord server.
