It's been a year since the debut of @steemflagrewards' Flag Trail. It didn't come without some controversies. Some of them was clear from the comment section alone. A year later, the trail is still active and provides downvote support. The trail also provides countermeasures against retaliatory votes.

         To the creator, @reazuliqbal, this tool alone has had sustained usage in the past year. As you can see, there was a demand for such thing after all. Later that year, @howo's proposal for a Downvote Control Tool became one of the first items approved for DAO funding.

         From the trail's original introductory post, I want to focus on a comment:

         You might ask yourself what was the juicy drama in that edited comment? Well, we are on a blockchain, every character you post here is eternal. Let's take a time machine and check out some history.

         Some of you may feel appalled at the choice of words. I, for one, found them funny. I sure couldn't come up with this level of roast.

         This was exactly how passionate @imacryptorick felt about the cause he supported. Some others in @utopian-io might have disagreed. Well, they aren't here to offer their opinions anymore save a few that are still lurking. There exist those who believed Utopian got strong-armed into rewarding that contribution.

         This is one of the times that members from SFR felt support from big stakeholders. It wasn't only him. There were @fulltimegeek, @ausbitbank, etc. who shared similar sentiments. Rick would go on to sponsor other curation and anti-abuse projects. He would also gather those initiatives in a communication hub to facilitate cooperation.

         It's better than STINC's "secret-no-so-secret" Slack.

         Some feel saddened that he has decided to power down his entire stake in recent times. But, the impact from his support lives on. Whatever people felt about him, he believed in Steem, and he set out to do something about it. He should be an example to those who aspire to do something on this platform.

         Whether or not you choose to stick around, @imacryptorick, we thank you for your support. SFR could not have made it this far without your involvement. Good luck to you on your next pursuit.

         You chose a difficult, but necessary, stance in anti-abuse. Even if others do not agree with the fruit of your labor, you have done far more than those who sit around and complain.