Hive is full of interesting people and as the blockchain is open, there are all kinds of ways to see what they get up to. Because Hive has significant value available, one of the most common things is to try to find ways to milk more tokens from the platform, without getting caught. But, people tend to slip up and sometimes, there are just too many coincidences. I have written a couple of these posts before, but this one is a little different as it includes two chains instead of one and two of the highest earners on Hive - Or is that one?
This was part of my entry into what I was planning to go on and make a humorous exposé into an account that has been deceiving the Hive community for "quite some time" and milking all they can. Unfortunately for me, the story leaked into the LEO Discord before I could get much further. I had a load of screen shots of transactions and everything.
While I would have made it funny for the audience, it actually annoys me a lot, as he really is literally one of the highest paid authors on Hive and has been since 2016 - yet, it was just not enough. I do get it though, as I like to earn here too and I have worked very hard over the years to be one of the highest paid also, but I still have limits and an ethical code with lines I do not cross. Because of this code, I end up working a lot.
Now, not only did the story leak, but the owner of the two accounts came into the room and confessed, which perhaps sounds noble and brave, but it had not been too many hours earlier that they had denied some of the allegations, without knowing that the connection between the accounts had been made days earlier, if not weeks. What started off as a suspicion, turned into a discussion and then evidence emerged as confirmation.
While they "confessed" they didn't take ownership of their behavior and instead tried to say "well, so and so does similar", like a child who blames his friends for his actions. It is quite pathetic. But, we do live in a world where people do not take responsibility for their actions and I guess it is to be expected when people can hide their faces and identities. I guess in this way, those who are known have to deal with a greater level of accountability, as their account is bound to them as a person - They aren't a Jon Doe.
I don't know why, but it always saddens me when the old accounts like this get caught scamming in some way. It could be because of the, "they should know better" aspect, but it is also that I still have the sense that they should be role models. It is a silly thing to think, since so many of them are only in it to maximizer their own wealth, even if it comes at the expense of others, just like the fat cat bankers they say they are trying to break free from. Acting like them, isn't beating them.
Still, and as I have said many times before, I am pretty idealistic when it comes to the way the world could be, but I am not overly naïve in the way it works. My idealistic side says, that if we want a better different, we should hold ourselves to a higher standard - even though I know that the majority are so conditioned by the past and current environment, that they will keep repeating what they have learned over and over, often finding ways to perfect, rather than change the system that enslaves so many of us.
While it saddens me, I am the kind of person that would rather know, than not know, because then I can act upon the information. Avoidance of an issue doesn't fix the issue and more often than not, it enables it so that the problem grows, not retracts. When it comes to making money, without checks and balances, it seems that a lot of participants are insatiable, that there will never be "enough". Couple this with impatience and entitlement, and it is a recipe for the degradation of society into a quagmire of maximize at any cost behaviors. Some people see this as playing the game, not cheating, but where is the line in a decentralized community with no set rules?
Well, that comes down to the community itself, as there is no government to make up the rules of behavior, past the rules of the blockchain. For example, the blockchain says downvotes are possible, but each individual makes the decision on where and why they use theirs, if they use them at all. But, this reasoning is going to be influenced by the culture that an individual finds themselves within, or creates for themselves. I have gotten flagged a lot in my time here and I take no pleasure in flagging others, but I do see it as necessary at times. I would far rather add value to people than take it away, but I also don't want the kind of behavior seen from this account to become the norm, as I do not want to live in that kind of culture.
There are only so many places we can be in the world and only so much we can each do in a lifetime and for me, I hope that each day, I can live a good life, which I see as being an owner of my life. This requires not only being able to provide for myself the best I can, but also taking responsibility for my actions - the good and the bad. If I acknowledge the good and ignore my bad, I will be unlikely to change my behavior for the better. And I want to be better. Doesn't everyone?
Perhaps not. Maybe it is part of the "love yourself regardless" attitude, so that no one has to actually take any responsibility, as they love themselves unconditionally. This allows for the justification of any behavior, no matter how harmful, as a narrative can always be weaved to explain away the bad behavior. And with no accountability through the anonymity of activity, there is no resistance, no modifier to temper actions.
I have a modifier in my life, my family. Everything I do is connected to them in some way, as they are an integral part of my life. And because I am selfish, I want them to both have opportunity and have the resources to take it. They see me far too often for me to fake being a good person, so I have to be one daily or, at least try to be the best version of myself. I fail often, but I admit to it and try to be better next time and I hope, that my daughter will love herself enough to not ignore her negative sides and instead accept them and be brave enough to improve herself. The opportunity to improve never goes away - but it can go unused.
This post is a bit of a ramble and I understand that it isn't to everyone's taste, but this is life. There are ups and downs, successes and failures, but I think that a good life is one where regardless of what others do, we hold ourselves to a higher standard than we expect from others. Even when it is hard. Even when it costs us. Even when other people get more benefits with less work.
I don't want to live a life where I lower my standards because others lower theirs, I want to live a life where I can continually raise my standards by improving what I do and how I do it. I don't want to say, I am better than you, I want to say, I am better than yesterday.
People might not know me, but to my family and myself, I am never a Jon Doe.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]