We Laugh...

Is it good to be back? How addicted to #steemit can one be? Are you eager to read your notifications, exchange ideas and reply to that great #comment? Does it make your day?

Well, I could, of course, start writing in Dutch, but nobody would read it, and I’m not very confident it would be translated either, even though there are browsers that do that automatically (though mine isn’t one of them, by the way); I have to literally copy the text and use a translator if I can’t read the language. English and German are no problem, of course, and Spanish is getting easier too, even though I can’t write it.
Given that I was brought up to believe that English is the global language, I actually think everyone should write in English, and that’s how the platform is set up, of course (all the communities are in English by default).
Ultimately, things have developed somewhat differently, and there are, of course, communities set up for specific countries, although they’re rather chaotic if it comes to the topics.

In recent years, many new communities have sprung up, including knack4buzz which I helped set up but where I was also thoroughly taken for a ride by the administrators. Most of the work fell on my shoulders, and there were even major row about it in the comments section under one of my posts in the ‘freewriters’ community. SC01 and 02 sided with the administrators who had emptied the wallet. It certainly wasn’t a supportive community, as the members only ever received votes when I logged in and posted them. A lot of lies, a lot of excuses, and then, just as a new community had been assigned a challenge, the two administrators decided straight away that it would also be the last one and they vanished into thin air. Although the female administrator did return under a different name and was immediately handsomely rewarded. With a system like that, you’re bound to end up with a situation where crime pays, and it’s a futile struggle. It feels a bit like real life, where those who always play by the rules get punished, whilst those who cheat the system are handsomely rewarded. That’s a bitter pill for many to swallow.

I hope things will improve, but to be honest, on the 6th day of September I can’t see any difference. I’ll do my best, though, and of course I won’t just be rewarding art and artistic posts and comments, but as usual I’ll also be leaving comments, which are indeed sometimes longer than a post itself, and giving tips on how to stand out more. This isn’t the first time I’ve done this, and of course I get replies like: ‘I’ll do that next time’ to which I think, ‘Why not make that change right now?’ I also don’t believe this behaviour is typical of newcomers; even long-standing platform users say this whilst at the same time complaining that they do not receive any rewards, even though they themselves never leave a comment or give a single upvote in return.

When it comes to commenting, the question arises as to why curators who never bother to read everything carefully and write a comment are chosen for this task. And if they are capable of doing so, why only as curators, and why do they never do this of their own accord? This is one of the reasons why it is difficult to find creative, active team members for True Colours. In the past, there were some who did receive their rewards but were too lazy to turn up and vote, or who knew they couldn’t vote because there was no Wi-Fi. You only find that out later, and then I just step in and do the extra work behind the scenes. Time and again, the rest of the team had to do the work, whilst these worthless, uninterested curators – who made deals with others – were elected month after month. You don’t want to know what they spout when you speak to them on Telegram, and it all comes out when you press them for answers. There are some who announced to me that they’d already be elected in October and November and would get a booming account.

I once asked the AI – because that’s already integrated into this platform too – what the difference is between me and @thegorilla and other recent ‘whales’.
Of course, the information was based on data from a few years back, but the interesting thing was that I haven’t changed – and, as the answer put it, I put too much effort into and vote on the new rooms, I’m just an ordinary Joe, and I give away too much. And as a result, there’s no growth. Some people – in this case, me – never change, and that probably applies to my writing on this platform as well. I’ve no idea why, really, but perhaps it’s a bit of loyalty because I started here when I was particularly broke, and in the end, this is where I made my connections. It’s, as you say, nice to check the notifications and get a genuine comment – by which I mean one that isn’t just a comment where someone always agrees with me. It’s much more valuable to be able to exchange ideas and genuinely learn something

While I’m on the subject of long comments: I sometimes turn them into a post myself. I’ll mention the article my post is a reaction to or a reply to, and then I use #comment.

I hope you’ll stay happy here, get some nice replies, and manage to keep your Steemit addiction under control (like me). Here we can laugh freely, even laugh at people and... us, falling for manipulatieve tricks, taking us nowhere. As long as the own bubble is creative and feels good there's a place to be. Let's be fair there's no need to invest in people or social-media to make you feel miserable (I am capable doing this myself). I still believe, Steemit is a damned lonely place to be if no one reaches out.

A good example is the bot that @xpillar tried out last year. It left comments on lots of posts, and people who rarely comment or reply did so this time. I think this says enough about loneliness and the need to seek contact, as well as the lack of vibrancy on this platform. I think smaller communities are better at maintaining connections and have also got to know and cherish many of their members. There’s also greater mutual loyalty. Members don’t leave at the drop of a hat because they’re looking for greater rewards.

Incidentally, I’d just become a Steem curator again after a few months when you started writing again. If I stop, we’ll be forgotten, with the exception of the good ideas.

Have a lovely Sunday. And no, I’m not checking this for spelling mistakes! It is and always will be a freewrite.

_{This is my reply to the comment posted by @marblely}

_{6.9.26
Prompt: we laugh at people
The photo was taken by me at the 'Rembrandthuis' in Amsterdam - first floor}