An accomplishment in its own right, I'm oddly excited and proud to announce that I have been MUTED by a fellow Hivian! The first ever, and I'm a bit disappointed at the lack of fanfare.

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I'd like to thank this individual for helping me reach an important milestone, without tagging them directly and risking making things worse (as they've since unmuted me, so would see the tag). I just feel like it's unnecessary... less than polite. This isn't to point fingers, after all, or thumb my nose out of anger or confusion...

There are a few important discussions embedded in my quirky experience.

The obvious one is GETTING MUTED here in the Hive ecosystem, which comes with a certain sense of legitimacy... of a newfound, respectable infamy.

(I'm half-kidding. It may be a silly thing, but it feels like it matters on some level... I mean, what kind of Hive Dolphin am I if I can't even piss off one person?! Not even my recent SMART-ASS SCIENCE PARODY POST was incendiary enough to attract a hater! And I really put some gusto on it... some sweet heat!)

And the other discussion is briefly about RISING STAR, the little game that caused this whole muting debacle in the first place. But more on that later...

Who Mutes You on Hive?

Are you wondering where I got that screenshot a few paragraphs up?

Three days ago, I wouldn't even have been able to answer that question... but then I stumbled upon THIS POST, in which @enforcer48 highlights a new tool that lifts this particular veil for any user brave enough to take a peek!

IMAGE SOURCE

Developed by @drakos-- Hive Witness and self-proclaimed Jolly Pirate from Treasure Island-- WHO MUTES ME? is part of a greater suite of Hive analysis tools that should be in every user's toolbox! So I highly recommend bookmarking the HIVEKINGS main page and taking some time to really comb through it.

Rising Stars and Big Feelings...

It was a dark and stormy night, made darker by an unhappy #RisingStar who was complaining about the unintuitive and unsortable Market system within the Cards section of the game. I happily approached, thinking I could help.

And I should say that their suggestions do make some sense: enabling sorting by currency or amount, and showing converted amounts (in USD, or even HIVE). It wasn't the substance of the argument, but the attitude, that quickly spoiled it.

You can see one of my quotes below, then the response. This was somewhere in the middle of the interaction, but I clearly didn't appreciate the sentiments expressed toward people I know are doing a great job.

Again, I'm not interested in throwing this person under the bus... so I cover the profile info accordingly. I have more graphics like this which show the entire conversation, but I'm actually going to shelf most of them. (WYSIWYG)

I'll show you my last word though, the fateful climax of our conflict... I felt pretty damn good about it too. Just enough cheek without getting mean.

I don't have any hard feelings, honestly... and hopefully they don't either. I've since been unmuted, as I mentioned before, so we should be able to co-exist peacefully if I just keep my mouth shut.

As they said at the end of our thread, which ended up being the actual last word, "It would be best for potential customers if your comments stayed hidden." They refer here to RISING STAR, of course, a game that I enjoy and a community I respect.

And not that I'm obligated to include any particular disclaimers: but I'm no insider or self-aggrandizing whale... I don't even personally know any of the people in the Rising Star community. I've just been playing for a long time and I've managed to stick to the top of the leaderboard. And I try to catch the Sunday live streams!

I'm just a regular dude... I think that's what I'm trying to say (just an average rocker trying to play his tune). I have invested some of my own crypto profits over time, sure, but most growth has been fueled by my in-game #Starbits income. I don't depend on any of it.

So I'm going to take all of that shade with a grain of salt. But let me know if you think I crossed a line, or I misrepresented the Rising Star community in any way. That is never my intention. I try to have a net positive effect everywhere I am.

But I still wanted to be able to say that at least one person has me muted, and now I'm back to square one... damn it! Damn this charming, likable man I've become.

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Meh! You win some, you lose some. RISING STAR, in my opinion, is a winner. (But SHH!) If you've been tempted to take a look at your own hit-list here on Hive, feel free to share the good or bad news in the comments! I'm curious if there's anyone else still waiting on their first true detractor. Thanks very much for reading. Peace out for now, y'all!

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_{Posted via MusicForLife.io}