Thoughts on the “Bounty Hunter” Debate in Steemit
Recently, after reading the response from the Steemit Foundation, I started reflecting again on this topic:
“You have highlighted the 'bounty hunter' posting behavior of @mohammadfaisal – yet you appear to be voting for him every day with booming02. Isn’t that just encouraging what you are against?”
I do not see bounty hunters as a problem that must be completely eliminated. Just as there is no such thing as 100% evil or 100% good in the world, the so-called bounty hunters on Steemit bring both negative and positive effects.
On the negative side, they typically participate only for mining rewards. Their community engagement is minimal, their service usage is limited, and their repeated posts often resemble spam or scams.
But on the positive side, they also play a role worth considering. They write posts daily, contribute data, and increase platform activity. For many dApps, higher data and user activity is valuable, since it makes services look more appealing and even supports marketing strategies. This is why many projects actively request bounty hunters to join their airdrop or marketing campaigns.
We should carefully examine what role bounty hunters play in Steemit today. Many of them operate within organized networks. Within those networks, services get exposure and sometimes even gain active new users.
This is why I believe it is better to guide and create a win-win situation, rather than completely rejecting them. Our team, for example, has given them only the minimum percentage of votes and encouraged service use. As a result, some of them even made purchases in certain services.
The Witch Hunt Culture of Steemit
Aren’t we tired of Steemit’s constant witch hunts?
Whenever issues arise, the typical response has been public “naming and shaming” through posts. Yes, users sometimes make mistakes or act out of greed. But instead of helping them improve, the community often attacks them with downvotes and hostility, eventually driving them away.
This is one of Steemit’s persistent negative cultural problems.
Even our own service was once targeted. Simply because of a front-end bug and lack of tutorials, we faced downvotes, insults, and were even labeled a “scam.” Ironically, many who previously insisted that downvotes should not be abused quickly became aggressive when they disagreed with us. This contradiction is a serious issue in the community.
Possible Solutions
After observing the current bounty hunter debate, our team has been discussing possible solutions:
Seasonal Operation of Cryptid Hunter
By running the game in seasons, users can experience faster and more diverse content. This should make gameplay less stagnant and allow more engaging activities.Reducing the Cost Burden in Cryptid Hunter
Lowering the price of card packs and energy recharge fees can give more users the chance to participate. Since bounty hunters operate purely on profit motives, reducing costs may help attract them into deeper service participation, where they also become consumers and contributors to the ecosystem.Changes to the Curation System
We believe curation rules need to be refined and clearer guidelines should be provided.Community Building
Establishing dedicated communication spaces (Telegram, Discord, etc.) for both bounty hunters and regular users to interact could create more value.
Closing Thoughts
Of course, our team cannot implement all of these at once. But we plan to roll out improvements step by step.
Instead of repeating the cycle of witch hunts, we should look for constructive solutions that balance both the challenges and opportunities bounty hunters bring. Only then can Steemit evolve into a healthier, more positive community.
Greetings @roadofrich
I find your assessment valid. I think the important thing is to identify them and let them know that we are monitoring the abuses being committed. This way, we seek to raise awareness among the abusers, so they can try to act appropriately.
Now, if the problem persists, there is no further reason to continue supporting these users.
The important thing we must keep in mind as curators is that votes are not mandatory or guaranteed for any user or post. Whether or not to grant a vote, and the percentage of that vote, is always under the discretion of the curation team.
On Hari Raid, I have encountered several abusers, and they have also been called to account.
https://steemit.com/world-of-xpilar/@adeljose/hari-raid-a-necessary-update-hari-raid-una-actualizacion-necesaria
The term "witch hunter" isn't correct when it comes to clear situations. Although this may be tiring, we must always ensure the sustainability of the reward system; otherwise, it won't be just one, but 10, 20, 30 users doing the same thing.
I wish you success.
0.00 SBD,
0.06 STEEM,
0.06 SP
I'm not arguing that these bounty hunters should be completely eliminated. While they should be removed if they significantly impact the service, I believe there's a win-win structure within the appropriate boundaries.
I believe that Steemit's current bounty hunters could benefit if they were allowed to participate more deeply in the ecosystem and operate within appropriate boundaries.
I understand your point of view, and to a certain extent, I agree with it. However, sometimes they get greedy and abuse things.
For example, with new users, we've seen multiple accounts created by the same person to take advantage of the support they received for achieving milestones in the newcomer community, since at the time, the SC03 account was guaranteed one vote. The accounts then became empty.
Typically, these accounts don't generate meaningful engagement, share subpar content, don't support other content, and don't add Steem Power to their wallets. In short, they contribute nothing useful to the platform.
0.00 SBD,
0.02 STEEM,
0.02 SP
Yes, I agree with your opinion. However, due to the nature of the STEEM blockchain, it is practically impossible to completely block abuse. Analyzing every user’s transactions one by one to determine whether they are abusive is simply not realistic.
The key point I want to emphasize is that, whether they are bounty hunters or regular users, what really matters is generating meaningful transactions and data from Steemit. This is the foundation for attracting marketing opportunities from external companies, which in turn can create positive momentum for the entire ecosystem.
As you mentioned, under the current structure, abusers provide no real benefit to Steemit. It is simply a cycle of curators → reward distribution, with some users exploiting multiple accounts to extract rewards.
But if marketing from external companies were introduced, the situation could change. For example:
Marketing costs → Burn
Curators → Profit distribution
With such a structure, the ecosystem could be managed in a very different and more sustainable way.
It would be good if you included in your curation guide that users should share posts about Crypto Hunted on the networks they manage, as a promotional strategy.
If Steemit wants to attract advertising from Web3 projects, several key conditions must be met:
A sufficient number of active users
The production of high-quality content
Clear and tangible promotional impact
Data that demonstrates real service participation
These elements can certainly be achieved through Steemit.
However, the important point is that if the platform continues to rely solely on the current curation system—where there is little networking among users and most activity consists only of repetitive “mining-style” posting for rewards—then achieving these goals will be impossible.
Hypocrite.
You're as responsible, if not more so (because you're a witness) than everybody else.
This when you were in the Top 20:
0.00 SBD,
0.00 STEEM,
1.52 SP
I haven't been using Steemit for very long, but thanks to the cryptid hunter project, there has been a surge in new users, which has made posting more fun and allowed me to promote the cryptid hunter project on Steem? However, there are still areas of the system that need refinement, and I believe that linking Steem to events could further activate the platform. Currently, it is unclear what kind of revenue would be generated if bounty hunters actually play the game, so I think this might be a viable option😊
Steemit certainly has its appeal, with its networking features and the ability to earn immediate rewards through writing.
However, the comments above highlight Steemit's downsides. Because it's a 100% anonymous forum, trolling can easily occur if your opinion doesn't align with theirs.
We believe that further involving bounty hunters in the ecosystem could benefit both the service and Steemit.