Lately, most notably after the layoffs at Steemit, Inc and the accompanying delay of the long-waited SMT’s, it feels like a new era has started on Steem: one of involvement and focused discussion and calls-to-action. Together we have started to work on a better Steem, a growing Steem, a more functional and dedicated Steem, and, most of all, a Steem that is less dependent on the one for-profit company that we have looked at to ‘do it all’ for a long time.

I, for one, am very excited about this new movement and want it to succeed. I want us to keep on talking, but most of all, to keep on doing and working on both social, community oriented projects and development of any kind. All focused towards a Steem that is here to stay.

The challenge at hand

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The biggest challenge we have to overcome if we truly want to work and continue working with ‘a better Steem’ as the end result: have clarity on who is doing what, where everyone is gathering to discuss ‘Steem’, which topics have been discussed, what were the conclusions, outcomes and calls-to-action of these gatherings or (semi-)private chats, and where you can I simply find out what is ‘the latest?’. Also, even more challenging, how do we make sure we get as many Steemians as possible involved in the decision making / voting, in a way that’s as decentralized and unbiased as possible?

Many individual and semi-organized initiatives have already started popping up. I applaud all of them. There are the regular State of Steem Forums including an complementary Discord, certain individuals have taken it upon themselves to write reports on some of the topics discussed in radio shows or on Discord, there are a few involved Steemians writing up proposals for the betterment of Steem, I’ve seen ideas take form around prioritizing importance of needed development work, and, of course, there’s community leaders, witnesses and developers taking matters in their own hands and simply start doing stuff, sometimes visible to all, sometimes behind the scenes.

Every single action and contribution is valuable. They add up and will make a difference.

But: could we get further, quicker, more efficiently if we had a more central place to work from? Are we organized enough right now to bring all initiatives to a successful end? Do we feel enough of the discussion is held and verified visibly and decentralized, or is too much taking place behind semi-closed doors? Can we make sure no ‘great idea’ is being overlooked by all of us merely because the person proposing doesn’t have the highest rep or best (high-stake) connections to get onto the trending page? How can we keep up with all that is happening and know where our hands, brains, creativity and intellectual input are needed?

Do we need a central, decentralized, community regulated Steem account?

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I’m wondering if we need a central and community regulated decentralized place from where we can post, discuss and vote on proposals, and get updated on ‘the latest’. It should be a neutral place most and foremost, carried by all of us, where no-one has any other motive to post on then to let the community know about his/her plans, ask for input, and make a decision or create a call to action to work towards the betterment of Steem.

This would mean the account could contain a wide variety of ideas and views and proposals since there should be no bias to who is posting, and the account truly represents the Steem Community as a whole, including a wide range of views, backgrounds and where it’s clear to everyone no central party is in control.

I believe we need this, but since this community regulated account would only really work if we all stand behind this and want to nurture it, I’m laying out a short version of the idea in front of you, the community, (a bit as the account itself would work…), before any action is taken. If reactions on this post sound like a ‘Yes, please!’ from the community it will be worth it to set up and monitor and make sure the details of how the account works is laid in front of all of you. If the community, (you!), doesn’t believe this idea adds value to all that has been set up and is being done so far then that’s totally fine. In that case the idea will not be executed since it would not be carried and nurtured by the community.

How would such an account work?

I will repeat and emphasize here that this account would be very much shaped by all of us. Through polls and discussions and votes we’ll decide what happens with the account. But, to get some idea of how I think it could work:

The what

• The account could contain the following information and posts: Overview of dates and topics of Forums (like the State of Steem Forums), Work Sessions arranged in chat or video communications, livestreams of Steemit, Inc, gatherings of subgroups like Witnesses and Developers discussing certain topics, etc.
• Overview and summaries / reports of main topics discussed in Forums / Meet-ups, without judgement, but meant as an overview of who is talking about what so input and collaboration ideas can be directed at the right people.
• Proposals from community members, be it witnesses, community leaders or involved community members of any kind can be posted here so the community can deliver input or start working on the proposal (dev work, funding, marketing…) Calls-to-action, for example actions any or a subgroup of Steemians can do that helps Steem get listed on exchanges, helps a project get funded… The possibilities here are endless.

The how

• The account would need to be cared for by a representation of the Steem Community. The Steem Community will always be the driving force behind the account and no decisions will be made without gathering input and votes from the community first.
• More than one person would carry the keys to this account, the community can decide who these people should be.
• Everyone can send in proposals through a fixed ‘Send in proposals’ post - Proposals are posted as a comment, so it’s verifiable by the blockchain every proposal gets a place (as/in a post) on the account Everyone can send in links to communities, forums, smaller chat groups, calls… this will become an extensive overview in which nothing gets left out.
• Post payouts on all posts of the account would be declined so there’s no question about the financial motives of the community account and those who operate it.

Most important of all: everything posted on the account should be with ‘a better Steem’ in mind, and ‘a better Steem’ is shaped by all of us - so we’ll decide with all of us. That also means all of the above is only a draft, in the end you decide what’s needed and how it would work.

My first idea would be to decline all payouts so no confusion exists over rewards and how to spend these. But then again, this could be voted otherwise, if we decide all funds should for example go towards a specific project.

To summarize

Goals of this post:

• To see if there is a mandate from the community to set up a ‘community regulated’ account where all things concerning the success / growth / development of Steem is displayed / shared.
• To see if people are willing to set this up and make it work

Goals of the community account:

• Have one place where anyone concerned about and involved with any aspect of Steem can go to and have immediate overview of the current status of all that is going on in the community that is workings towards a better Steem
• Have a true representation of the Steem Community by being unbiased and welcoming anyone with any background or view to share their thoughts and proposals, with no central party in control
• Have a place where everything can be proposed and decided on by the community and where we have a verifiable report of our progress through discussions and voting and decision making on the blockchain.

After reading this: do you think we need a central, decentralized, community regulated Steem account?

And, while you’re at it, do you have ideas how we could set up a decentralized mechanism that ensures maximum decentralization, but that’s also ‘practical’? With Steemit, Inc’s resources being low we can’t expect any new blockchain code to be developed, so the ‘solution’ should be something we can achieve buy ‘smart thinking’, leveraging the tools we have and ways to organize the community. I’d love to hear your input!

Please discuss and vote ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ by a signed vote through the Dpoll-link below.

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Yes (86.96%) 40 / 46 No (13.04%) 6 / 46