Ashes to Ashes, Votes to Dust: Making votes count

Last week @timcliff wrote a post that got a lot of attention both positive and negative in its approach to combat Spam. I am not going to talk about that right now but it brought up something that I didn't know, and I am certain many others don't either.

Payouts from 0.001 - 0.019 do not get paid.

These are called dust amounts. What that means is that if a comment or post only has 1 cent (0.01) on it, there will be no payout. To reach the threshold and qualify for a payout, it must reach at least 0.02. This doesn't mean that a 1 cent vote has no value though, it just means that a one cent vote by itself has no value.

This has some implications I think we should all be aware of but especially the smaller voters. A 0.02 cent vote requires (on current Steem prices) ~80 Steem power at 100% voting power and 100% weight to deliver. This should already have some implications for the spammers underneath that level self-voting thinking they are going to get some rewards for it.

But, there is more to think about now. For example, some people give 1% cent votes as agreements or read receipts but, if you have low SP or voting power, that won't be enough for a payout to somebody.

For example, it will take 500 Steem Power (SP) at 100% Voting Power (VP) and 15% strength to reach 2 cents.

However, it will take 500 Steem Power (SP) at 80% Voting Power (VP) and 20% strength to reach 2 cents.

I am using the 500 SP because that is about where the Steemit slider appears however, places like Busy.org have a slider all the time. But, if one has 100 SP, this is what it looks like with full voting power.

What this means is that all of the comment votes that don't reach that 0.02 cent level do not count. Again, implications. Unfortunately, this means that small votes given are just encouragement awards that don't go toward building accounts unless more votes are added on top to reach the 0.02 level. And, this is where there is an opportunity for people to actually be a part of the community by helping other accounts out.

• If you see a comment or post that deserves a payout but doesn't reach the 0.02 cent level, add a vote on top if you can.
• If you are on a friend's blog and they have tried to reward comments but don't have power to reach it, add a vote if you can
• If you see posts that are under 2 cents and are real posts, add a vote.

If you have a larger account with 1000 SP, this is the minimum at 100% VP you need to add. 8% to give a payout if the only voter.

Those people giving 1% votes? This is the minimum SP needed to give a 1% vote and get a payout:

7500 Steem Power. And, that is at current prices of 3.00 dollars for Steem.

What this means for small accounts trying to community build by adding at least some value to people's comments and posts, you are unable to spread as widely as you are likely going to need to add higher voting percentages. This is more important for comments as it is common that a comment will only get a vote from the author of the post. This might mean you have to be a little more discerning and critical of what comments you upvote.

This should also serve as a warning to commentors also as this should encourage better quality comments, spam isn't going to cut it. Also, a reminder, self-voting comments turns many people off voting on top. I don't like it when people do it on my blog, no matter who they are so, I will often skip voting on them.

Now, my position on this.

 
I vote on many comments if they add value to the conversation. I notice people cutting lines from my text and saying, "I agree" and that is it. Most of the time, it seems very insincere unless I already know the person well enough to understand behind the words. Add value, or no vote. Look like spam and get flagged like spam. I am going to get stricter again.

Next, the people who vote on my replies to them as an agreement or read receipt. Kind of like a thumbs up. It is appreciated but, unless you have the Steem Power to spare or really think it is worth it, please, I ask you not to vote on my comment on my own posts from now on. I would rather you find other comments or posts that are deserving of some payout and bump them up instead. You can comment on me instead of voting. Of course, if you have the Voting Power to spare, I am not going to flag you for it and it is appreciated.

I am also going to try to visit smaller blogs a little more often and bump some of the comments that deserve it. I know that it isn't much but, it might help the blog grow slightly or, at least encourage better quality comments. If you see me do this on your blog and don't want me to, just say so and I will stop it.

I have a feeling that because many people don't know about the dust threshold, they are thinking that their self-voted spam is earning something. Well, it appears it isn't. This also means that if you come across self voted spam, as long as you don't vote on it and push it over the 0.02 limit, it won't get a payout. Of course, if you have the power to spare, check their comments section and if they are indeed a spammer, flag them.

This dust level has something to do with the way the blockchain works and will change slightly in the next HF, Velocity. You can read about it here and perhaps work something different out of it.

I wrote this (hoping the information is correct) because I have got a couple messages over the last week about it from some small community builders asking what they should do. Again, I recommend to keep building. If you can bump them into earning something great, but even if you can't, it is encouraging to get votes still. It is the thought that counts. I am hoping those that engage often with each other can team up a little and help one another in this regard too.

I hope this clears something up or at least, raises some questions and attracts some answers from some people who might know a lot more than I.

Taraz
[ a Steemit original ]

The images are taken from @penguinpablo's steemnow.com calculator