First, I have had a blast on Steemit. I have greatly enjoyed writing posts and meeting new people. Steemit is a great opportunity to build social and financial assets, but you have to be ready to serve other people by creating quality content.
I am striving to be a great content creator. I still make mistakes, but I am practicing my craft.
Second, I have never flagged anyone (at least not yet). I am a bit afraid of the dreaded flag.
I understand the importance of flagging, but I am afraid of retaliation. It seems like anger can lead to flagging which leads to more anger and more flags, and then all of a sudden there are a much of bloodied Steemians laying on the floor, with digital bumps and bruises and low voting power.
Stresses me out thinking about it!
Plagiarism
So it is pretty obvious that plagiarism deserves a flag. We can not build a community of trust when people steal other people's work and claim it as their own. We cannot be a community of honorable content creators when the content we post was not our own creation.
Hands down. No questions asked. Plagiarism is unacceptable and it can not be tolerated. And the flags come up and everyone cheers for justice served.
Self Advertising, Follow For Follows, Upvotes for Upvotes
This next category seems to be a gray area in our Steemit community. I have seen some of our fellow Steemian express concern and willingness to flag immediately for this type of behavior.
But others have given warnings. They have taken a possible questionable moment and turned into a teachable moment. They have given grace to a new user who maybe joined Steemit for the wrong reason (fame, power, and money), and are trying to provide guidance and direction.
Honestly, both positions are valid. But cheers all around for our patient friends who understand that investing a moment to model and teach makes our community stronger.
But what about if you disagree with someone's opinion?
Do we value free speech, but only as long as it matches our own values?
Can we support a person who has vastly different religious and moral values than what we hold dear?
Can a Democrat and a Republican cast an upvote for one another or should the flags come out?
I have very strong personal convictions about life, marriage, managing money, serving those in need, and the list goes on.
So what happens if the content of my message offends you.
Should I just avoid those controversial topics? Not necessarily.
Should I bunker down in fear? Definitely not.
Should I develop relationships with people who are different than I am? Most definitely.
Should I speak truthfully with kindness? Always.
I want to leave you with two thoughts:
Let us give freedom to allow others to disagree with the content of our posts.
But let us unify our community with a willingness to speak with kindness as we post, and comment, and reply.
