I just discovered Steemit!

So I have been hearing a lot about Steemit on the Interwebs lately and decided to, finally, come check it out. One of the first thing I saw when I arrived was a post by @chiefmappster titled "@ned You Have One Last Chance Buddy". I read his post and honesly it concerned me so I started doing some research into this whole Steemit Phenomena. What I discovered has me unsure if I even want to be a Steemian or invest time and money into this platform.

Problems I see that scare me!

* There appears to be a large number of "whales" on Steemit who have taken it upon themselves to "CENSOR" content. From what I can tell some of them are doing it for good things like: @curie & @steemcleaners. Then there are others who seem determined to destroy Steemit and those who work hard to earn money on Steemit like @berniesanders, @bayrene, @noganoo.

* There are way way too many BOT NETWORKS on Steemit that promote their own accounts or those of close friends accounts. This, to me, seems to be counter productive for the Steemit Ecosystem as it devalues Steem and discourages new people from even trying to make an impact on Steemit. Steemians like @noganoo and @berniesanders seem to have massive amounts of accounts which they wield like Tyrannical Dictators and behead anyone they seem UnWorthy.

* The whole Flagging/Downvoting debate is downright terrifying to a new user, like me. In theory I understand the need for Downvotes to ensure that no Illegal or Stolen Content is rewarded with Payouts. However, it seems that the Downvoting System is being abused and misused almost as much (if not more) than it is properly utilized. Furthermore, Flagging someone solely because you think the post is Overvalued is ridiculous and only seems to be used by Whales to punish people they don't like or agree with. I see hundreds of posts that are one sentence or paragraph, not well written or formatted, often have no source links for the video/photo/art they include that make $50+ dollars, while well written and formatted posts make nothing at all.

* The only way it seems to make money on Steemit is if you are either already loaded with money and Power Up, use some BOT network to promote yourself or you are friends with a Whale or Bot Network owner. Leaving the newbies and people with no money/friends to swim around the Steemit Pond and hope like hell someone drops a few scraps their way from time to time.

* The whole "Steemit doesn't owe you anything" mentality I see from the Whales towards the Minnows is frightening at best. It seems the Top People on Steemit believe that only they are entitled to earn money on Steemit and that every one else should just shut the fuck up and do what they are told. I mean seriously, when was the last time that a relative Newbie with little to no Steem Power actually had a descent paying post....one that made it to the First Page of Trending. The first page of Trending right now is full of all whales and bots as best I can tell.

Make Steemit Great, Again!

* The Flagging/Downvoting system should be disabled (for the majority of users) and instead Steemit should have "community leaders" that are "elected" similar to the way Witnesses are Voted On that have Flagging Ability to moderate Illegal, Stolen or Spam content. Those "community leaders" should be "Minnows" with low Steem Power. The Flagging System should also be overhauled so that Flag's from "community leaders" (even with no Steem Power) can Hide the Post. Having a single post "Hidden" by a Flag should not affect the person's Potential Payouts or Reputation Score as everyone makes mistakes. Repeated Violations, however should have an escalating scale of punitive damages to the persons Potential Payouts and Reputation.

* Whales and high Steem Power Steemians should learn to balance their Upvotes and Downvotes and not use them for petty disagreements, personal vendetta's or other nefarious means.

Witnesses should not be allowed to Witness, have High Steem Power and Flag all on the same account. This gives them way way way too much power and as the old saying goes "Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely!".

Disclaimer:

I fully expect this post (and account) to get Flagged into oblivion, which will only serve to prove my points and fears about Steemit. I sincerely hope I am mistaken and that the community will embrace my fears and work to help alleviate them for the sake of Newbies like me who are pouring into Steemit.....then abruptly leaving when they realize what I have mentioned above.

On the off chance this post/account survives and you agree with me, think that Steemit needs WORK or just want to see what other controversy I will stir up next then please follow me: @steemitfreak!