Following a good nights sleep at last, I'll probably produce 2/3 SteemFest related posts over the next week.  Apologies for not interacting much over the past 7 days, I have my weak excuses ready - time / phone battery / liquid diet, but yes, I could/should have done better here.  However, I'm home now, so should be back in the mix from now on.

There is so much to try and cram into one effort and so I hope this is an acceptable way to do things for you.  There will be more to come on my feelings and understanding following the event, as well as a 'thank you' / shout outs post to the people I did manage to spend some time with (this one I'm dreading as it's likely I'll miss one or two of you out), but this post is mainly about patching up differences of opinion I've had over the past year with a handful of Steemians who were present at the event this year.

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@anomadsoul, @abh12345, @meno, @yidneth, @evecab and @hedac
Photo courtesy of @llfarms - [source](https://steemit.com/steemfest/@llfarms/steemfest-3-closing-night-snap-shots)
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### You call that engagement?
### 
On the first evening of the event, the lobby at the Qubus hotel was packed with attendees.  The mood seemed hugely positive and there were smiles and hugs everywhere you looked.  After meeting some of last years attendees and receiving a few 9+ rated hugs myself, I was approached by a woman who wished to apologize for an interaction on one of my Engagement League posts earlier this year.  Frustratingly, and having scanned the database for half an hour this morning, I cannot find the thread, and neither can I remember your username.  What a doofus!  Anyway, I hope you find this post and let me know.  Is your name Michelle? Sorry!

The story goes that this lady had made a comment relating to the Engagement League commentators waffling (my word) and not really adding 'quality' (I think her word) engagement to the blockchain at times.  I did, and still do, understand the point that was made, but was rather defensive in my reply (to the point of swearing apparently!) as these posts take hours each week to compile and produce, and it is a huge ask to decide via code if the comment text brings value, or is just a bunch of characters, brain-farted onto the chain 'for the sake of it' in which no-one gains anything from.

Thank you for coming to me with an apology, I'm sorry for the swears, and really sorry for forgetting your username!


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### An oversight on emotional blackmail
### 

Good day @r00sj3!  My straight-forward Dutch friend (we are friends now, right?) was not at all happy with a post I created to suggest that those who were not voting for @curie as a witness, but had received support from them this year, 'consider' a witness vote for this long-standing curation outfit.

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https://steemit.com/curie/@abh12345/curie-has-supported-you-now-it-is-your-turn

For the most part, the post was well received but their were a couple of comments slamming the post as spam and an emotional blackmail attempt.  The spam accusations I still refute today but I can understand, particularly following conversations with @r00sj3 this week, that the post had potential to be viewed as unfair, and a guilt trip.  Some assumed that I was also to gain something for this work, or that I was directed via @curie.  Neither of which were true, but neither were stated clearly, or at all in the text.

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Whilst I don't think @r00sj3 has forgiven me fully for this, the interactions we had this week, especially talking about lucid dreams over lunch, certainly improved the relationship between us.  This could be completely wrong but I guess we'll find out in the comments below, or not!  Thanks for standing your ground, and not boxing me in the face!

Oh and for clarification, and this is not the original post title shown above, and @r00sj3 did comment that this revision was much better than: 

> curie-has-supported-you-now-it-is-your-turn
# 
Fair enough!

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### My turn(s) to apologize 
### 

Next up, probably the account in which I have exchanged the least positive interactions with on the Steem blockchain this past year.  Good day @therealwolf, the witness behind @smartmarket, @smartsteem, Steem Messenger, @helpie and @minnowsupport delegator, and sponsor of the bowling prizes this past week, to name but a few of his projects.

Being a regular bid-bot user earlier in my Steem existence, and again for clarity, a regular user of @ocdb today, it's pretty clear to see that calling out certain bid-bot owner actions was hypocritical of me.  Whilst I still believe that they are not working in the best interests of the blockchain, I do understand that they are not going anywhere soon, and until there are other profitable, OK, very profitable, options for those with stake to earn who do not wish to post just to self-vote 8/9/10 times a day, this is where we are at.

The main point, which I conceded over a 10 minute talk with the wolf is that if he was to step down as a bid-bot owner, the delegations would very likely move to another bid-bot, and probably to one in which there was no 'face' or communication from.  @therealwolf is a friendly guy, clearly 'all-in' on Steem and having the chance to talk about our actions this past year face-to-face, really helped me to see that he's just a guy, trying to make a living for himself and his family.  Thanks for the chat @therealwolf, and thank you for letting me sign your cap.

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The last person, or indeed couple, I felt it was great to speak to with regards to a negative comment I left earlier this year was @roxane and @oroger.  They both did much work last year (and are continuing to do so with English-French translations of the SMT paper, etc) in trying to grow the French community .  @roxane received a pretty large delegation for her efforts, but these efforts seemed to drop at the start of the year, particularly with regards to engagement on her part.  Hence: 

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https://steemit.com/fr/@roxane/820-000-petits-steemiens-et-moi-et-moi-et-moi

Basically, I was replying to hundreds of comments a week, issuing prizes, and really trying to promote engagement, whilst watching other accounts discuss engagement, but seemingly not practicing what they preach.  I picked on a particular post with low engagement by @roxane and left the above comment.  

Now, having spoken to her last week about this, and taking into account the huge drop-off we've had in retention and engagement this year across the board, it's easy to see that this comment was a bit harsh.  Again, apologies @roxane and @oroger, it was great to spend the final evening with you, especially discussing retro-gaming!  Good luck in 2019 on what will be a huge year for you both - congratulations!

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This is probably a good time to apologize to all the attendees I didn't manage to speak to.  Even with a multi-day event, this was never going to happen but I'm still feeling a little regretful in missing out.  I guess we can try again next year!

Most likely a different blog than most coming out of the Steemfest event, I'm now #backfromsteemfest with a clearer conscience and have hopefully learned to think a little more before Steeming in future.

Thanks for reading, more on the event and interactions with fellow Steemians soon.

Ahora una siesta!

Asher