First of all, I sympathize with you, regarding your near suicide. Thank God that you weren't successful.
I haven't worked as hard as you have on a post, but I've done all the things on a list of do's and don'ts for this site. I was drawn to this site because it claimed to have freedom of speech. I'm realizing now, that whales may hold me back if they are not of the same mindset as me. I'm a conservative and was trying to make the move from Facebook because of their crackdown on free speech and conservative views. I've upvoted, followed people with good scores, engaged in conversation in comments and discord, but my value just dwindles constantly.
It shouldn't be this hard. On Facebook, I get a noticeable response with every post I make. Sometimes one of my posts will receive hundreds of comments or "Likes". I've been encouraging my Facebook friends to sign up with Steemit. Maybe that was a mistake. They'll most likely be met with the same discouragement and realize what a waste of time this site can be.
I'm hoping the site will be cloned and improved. Until then, I'm backing off from this site. I have better things to do.
Is anyone listening?