Damn Voat, it's not easy being a Goat herder.
After reading and reflecting on the feedback everyone provided concerning the bans (and it was a lot of information to process), I realize I've acted against Voat's principals. Voat is the last Wild Wild West website online. It always has been. If it wasn't for Free Speech and you guys telling me I'm a faggot, I wouldn't have seen this. This is the power of Free Speech in that only with it, can difficult problems be fixed.
Concerning Vote Manipulation Bans:
I'm reversing all recent vote manipulation bans. Voat has changed and thus our process needs changed. I will not be processing further vote manipulation bans until we talk about the process as a community.
Concerning The Downvote Disclosure:
I'm a piece of shit for doing this. I should have never even looked at the votes on that post, but my curiosity got the best of me. Posting about it was equally shitty. I can not provide any justification for my actions other than to admit they were wrong and amateurish and to promise if they ever happen again, I'll permaban myself as punishment. And OP will deliver.
Concerning Builders:
Many think that my endorsement of very specific acts, imply a full endorsement of the user as a whole. This isn't true. My intent was to highlight specific acts that stood out as courageous or constructive, not the user themselves. It didn't help that all three of these users are controversial in their own ways.
On Poetry:
I'll probably still continue posting poetry on Voat. The shit posts are just too funny.
As I look at this mess I've created, I realize that I should just stick to writing software and leave what is working alone. Sometimes lessons in life have to be learned a few times before they sink in and I believe this is one of them.
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logos_ethos ago
You keep database access limited for a reason. We know that you have access to the votes, and I expect you to use whatever means at your disposal to protect honest voaters from cheating. Including understanding how users are really exploiting your website, which includes the votes. It was probably bad taste to advertise it, but people are fools for being surprised, or cheaters are concerned about getting caught. Do not limit yourself from understanding what kind of problem that you are dealing with.
The main concern that I have is that you do what other software developers have done, sell out your control and manipulate the community for inorganic growth, such as abandoning free speech. You can have friendly, or honesty. Do not ever expect both. The market for friendly is saturated and the market for honesty is a growth opportunity. But you were right to fight inorganic behavior. Keep users honest. Keep working on that ban algorithm. But think about ways to make their inorganic behavior more transparent to us, so we can take some of the work off of you.
My other concern is burnout. Write tools to offload your work. The QRV solution should never have been to change the owners. Maybe create some site-wide janitors, and let owners ban side-wide janitors if they do not fulfill their duties accurately. Also, I know that to prevent people from voting more than once, anon subs are not truly anon to you, so you could find those who posted porn if you wanted too. You probably already do, which may have been part of the motivation for the destroyers comment. If those people moved to Poal, they would not be missed. Spamming is not free speech.
virge ago
How would you approach this problem? If the answer is transparency, please contribute your genuine feedback here.
logos_ethos ago
Transparency will just give you an earlier warning. That may be useful to some, but I would rather prevent the problem from ever happening. The solution is to keep the company small, and to prevent any kind of legal / corporate control structure from forming that might displace people with the dedication for free speech. Try to outsource anything that might try to control the company, and be ready to replace them at all times.
virge ago
Is it realistic, or fair, to make assumptions about the financial situation of the company?
logos_ethos ago
I was commenting on the number of employees. I do not need to make any financial assumptions to state that not giving away your power is a good thing.
sguevar ago
He talks about transparency but he purges all of his content and comments within a few days to avoid transparency. Start archiving your interactings with this faggot because he is not more than a deceitful piece of shit. Just an advise, do as you will.