https://khaleelkazi.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Changing-the-basis-for-rewards-on-the-Steem-blockchain.png

Steemit, Inc. made an announcement post yesterday about the Hard Fork 21 (HF21) testnet going live. They did not, however, make a post that did much of any kind of real explanation of what to expect.

While I’d like to see 1 post from them that both announces HF21 and also tells us what exactly is going to be in HF21, I can still work with what they’ve given us.

HF21 is essentially all about economic changes to the way that STEEM is rewarded to content creators, curators and people who add value to Steem via projects (Steem Proposal System). 

By changing the reward curve, splitting author/curator rewards 50/50, adding a downvote pool and adding a Steem Proposal System, Steemit, Inc. hopes to solve the issue of content discovery and abuse of the Steem blockchain. 

<hr>

<center><h4> [Originally Posted on My Blog. Click Here to Read This Post on My Website!](https://khaleelkazi.com/changing-the-basis-of-rewards-on-the-steem-blockchain/)</h4></center>

<center><a href="https://khaleelkazi.com/changing-the-basis-of-rewards-on-the-steem-blockchain/)" rel="Khaleelkazi.com">![Foo](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmbAeZ2xNQsnvJB37Vc7YmQufR9w2paeXhRGJBKpqa5Gj6/khaleelkazi.com%20galaxy%20banner.png)</a></center>

<hr>

While I think there is a chance these changes could help, I still don’t feel like they’ve thought this one out very well. Steemit, Inc. has a bad history of thinking in a vacuum rather than talking to the people who actively use this platform each day. Even some of the witnesses are guilty of this as well. 

I know I keep beating a dead horse with this one, but let me tell you why Palnet has made these changes kind of irrelevant to me as an (aspiring) content creator/curator on the Steem blockchain.

<h4> The Introduction of Tribes and the Example of Palnet.io Makes these Economic Changes Irrelevant — If You Want it to Be So</h4>

I have noticed that my content on Palnet gets WAY more votes than it does if I post solely on Steemit. 

Not only that, but it gets way more engagement. Engagement is the thing that actually makes content creation worthwhile. You get to see what people think of your work and see if they actually appreciate the time you put into it. 

Making things out of passion is the way to make your life have meaning. Creating something that is worth sharing and that actually gets shared on a platform is more rewarding than I can explain with words. 

On Palnet, this is all happening for me.
1. I’m getting more rewards
2. I’m getting more engagement
3. The work feels more rewarding
4. Creating posts and curating posts is once again interesting

<h4> Palnet Trending Page</h4>

Palnet is just a little over 1 week old. Head over to the trending page and while you see a lot of Palnet related content, you will also see that it is all GOOD content. 

It may not all be 10/10, life-altering content, but the content is good and it clearly has effort behind it rather than a fiery drive to arbitrage the blockchain for short-term financial gain.

Curation and moderation on Palnet is working. Palnet has a slightly superlunar curve, 50/50 rewards, and 1 free downvote a day for each user. While I believe that these factors have some level of contribution to bettering the content discovery here, I believe that something even larger is at play:

I would argue that these 3 economic changes to the structure of Palnet rewards contribute to better content discovery by (maybe) 10-20%. 

**If the economic changes are only a fraction of the reason why Palnet content discovery is working, then what makes up the greater chunk?**

Good question… I believe that the remaining 80-90% are split between a better stake distribution and a more niche community (a.k.a. Tribe). 

After the claim drop, most of the weak hands got rid of their PAL. These are largely the nonbelievers in the Palnet ecosystem. 

Thus, the stake flowed into the hands of people who want Palnet to succeed and who see the vision for a better future for the Steem blockchain. For all content creators. For all content curators. For Tribes, etc. 

Now we have motivated curators who are looking for the best content to rise to the top. People who really care about Palnet.io and not even necessarily the Steem blockchain. 

Niching down into a smaller community has allowed for people to be more honest about their content. It allows for better engagement and more like-minded individuals to gather around the best ideas. Thus, **good** content is floating to the top while the spammy trash stays where it belongs - at the bottom of the big, blue ocean.