And this is why you should still engage in them, when necessary.

Last Saturday, on @shadowspub's Witness Chat - we all sat enthralled listening to @crimsonclad passionately explain WHY downvoting should be used on the platform. She also carefully explained the difference of using the terms DOWNVOTING (which is used as an re-allocation of rewards, due to a difference of opinion on the quality of the post in question) vs. FLAGGING (which is a penalty for true abuse, such as plagiarism)

Two of our Welcome Wagon graduates (the dynamic duo @xcountytravelers) have begun a new project called, "Have Ya Met", where they genuinely welcome as many new people using the #introduceyourself tag, and feature some of the brighest stars to the rest of the community.

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Since they're familiar with all those newbie names and posts, they came across someone who was abusing the tag. They mentioned the abuse, told them the guidelines and carefully warned them that consequences of tag abuse might follow if they didn't stop abusing the tag. The user (@rafsani) told them he wouldn't stop, that abuse of the tag was the only way to get upvotes and be seen, and told them to just ignore it if they didn't like it.

Maybe this was just a case of simply not understanding
that there were better options?

I decided to come alongside him to help, and suggest other tags to use. It was clear that people were enjoying his photography! There are TONS more tags that he could use for MORE appropriate votes, and also the chance to build a real COMMUNITY to support him long term.

And then I noticed his photography.

It was good! Maybe... TOO good. @bluefinstudios and I used a simple reverse search which revealed that the photos he was using to collect upvotes (and remove funding from the rewards pool) were NOT his photos.

Further inspection of his blog showed that he wasn't NEW to plagiarism - as he had already been previously visited by @steemcleaners, and @intro.bot - both warning him of his abuse.

REALLY?

At this point, what would you do?

First - I would suggest you look at their reputation. This is my personal suggestion. Why? Because plankton and minnows can't afford to get into a war with someone who will decimate them. That's just the brutal truth. If you can't handle them, and you have bigger friends - GO GET YOUR BIGGER FRIENDS. Seriously. This is ONE of the reasons why community is awesome. Is this mob mentality? Absolutely not. I DETEST mob mentality. This is called protection, wisdom and common sense.

Second - Be kind. Right? If you can be kind, do it. There is no reason for name-calling or vicious behavior. Just clean up the water that we're all swimming in. Do your duty, and leave.

Third- Chill. It's not personal. If it's a downvote, explain why. If it's a flag, explain why AND THEN NOTIFY @steemcleaners, @cheetah, @tagalong - whoever else might be appropriate. [How to notify @steemcleaners? Use their website HERE]

Fourth - Do not engage. Honestly, people. There are people who thrive off of drama. Do NOT feed the bears. (They'll just make more bear poop. And you know I know a lot about bear poop. LOL)

Addendum:

I was perfectly fine to walk away from this situation after flagging two of his posts, both clear instances of plagiarism. This morning, he retaliated in flagging 9 of my most recent posts. So, I decided this would be an appropriate time to make his name a little bit more well known.

Did his flags bother me? No, not really. Financially, they didn't. They were 0 cent flags. (Even though they cost HIM nine of his ten 100% votes today. What a waste. YES, downvotes COST you.) But, it was more the principle, and a follow-up to the topic from the Witness Chat.

Had he been an angry dolphin (or higher) - that could have been EXTREMLY harmful to me, but thankfully, I did check his rep first.

Why does all this matter?

His post was worth 15 cents before you flagged him. Do you really care that much?

Well.

1. Yes, I do care. And you should too. We all swim in the same waters. Let's keep it as clean as we can.
2. I don't flag erroneously. His arrogant attitude, consistent abuse pattern, and disregard for proper ownership warranted every bit of the tags he received from me and others.
3. With Steem being so low, 15 cents is a lot. If you don't think so, go scroll through the posts of some new users and see if they'd like to have that 15 cents!
4. Those rewards DESERVE to be re-allocated to other more diligent Steemians.

So - thank you @rafsani. You've managed to take a negative thing and make it into a positive lesson for others. Hope that you also take this opportunity to change tactics. If not - I see a LOT more flags in your future.

The end!