Earlier today I was having a conversation with a friend who thought the idea of self voting was ideal for a whale, especially if she/he - the whales doesn't get enough support from the community.
My counter-argument was that if everyone did the same thing this whole blockchain would be up in smokes (not literally). I also asked what non-whales give in return for the huge upvotes they get.
As much as most of us like to think we are rewarded for creating quality content (which is very subjective), I think for the vast majority it is more about participation than it is about the quality of their content
However, we can't deny that self-voting is a thing. Although I might get burned for this but I honestly do not think it is a bad thing per se. Do I self-vote? Certainly not! What do I want to reward myself with?
A detour...
In retrospect, what am I rewarding people with? I am a strong believer in the principle of doing unto others what we want others to do to us. For example, If I want kindness, I show kindness. Following this simple principle will certainly make the world a much better place.
However, if I don't vote myself because I don't deem my vote worth anything, why should I give others what I think is worthless? Well, this is where engagement comes in handy. Considering the scarcity of feedback, I believe by interacting with other people we create value.
Back on track...
The major reason I don't self-vote is that I consider it to be selfish (not greedy). You're not taking anything from anyone per se by self-voting (I stand to be corrected). If I had a healthy stake I might consider it once or twice a month (but what's the point if you can earn good curation rewards?).
However, just like every other thing on this blockchain (blogging, comment, policing, staking, etc) when done excessively can have a negative connotation.
Some people think whales are greedy; some people think those who post everything (like me) are greedy; some think powering down is greedy. I think we bastardize the use of the word 'greed'.
SELF-PRESERVATION
I think we are all selfish to a certain degree and will act in ways to preserve our time, human and capital investment on this platform in ways that may offend other people.
For example, I extremely dislike those who go about policing other people. I once encountered a chap who tried to ridicule me for powering down occasionally, disregarding that our situation was different.
He had never powered down and felt superior to me in some way that I find comical. Following his path would mean hunger and starvation for me and I am certainly not following that route.
Rather than just hating his guts (which I do), i understand his need to preserve the thing he cares about (it would either be is investment or the blockchain. Sometimes both).
The whole point of the example above is to show how different our realities are and why I think having civil conversations about these sorts of grey areas is pivotal to our growth as a community--if we value that as well.
I am not here to argue what's right or wrong (people are doing that alright). I think there are more important discussions on how we want to operate and function as a community. The more people involved in this conversation the better. Cheers!
