You mentioned 10x 50k accounts, and yes, that many accounts have been opened. You next mentioned 44k active accounts, and some significant portion of those are bots, I'm sure you'll acknowledge.

Using your most optimistic figures, 44k active accounts of 500k accounts opened, we arrive at less than 10% of those that opened accounts remaining active.

This calculation jibes with analysis performed by @paulag regarding user retention from 2016 to Nov 2017, which she calculated to be about ~11%.

I'm failing to see good news in these figures. If retention rates hold, and the increasing rate at which Steem is being concentrated in the accounts of those that have the most of it, does seem to support that rate holding, of the 44k accounts now active, but 4k will be active next year.

I suggest that merely onboarding new users won't change that. The many new accounts that opened in 2017, the majority of accounts ever opened, haven't changed that. I address this data because were new accounts to remain active, I'd completely agree with you, and we'd have reason for great optimism regarding 2018.

I'd like to be optimistic. I am instead realistic.

This makes me pessimistic.

I sincerely hope all your dreams come true. They could. Like most dreams that come true, some component of reason and work are essential to make them come true.

Will they come true if 90% of accounts continue to become inactive?

If not, and I think they won't, we should do something to retain new users.

Something that hasn't been done yet, since the problem remains extant.

I'd appreciate any thoughts you might have on this data.

Thanks!