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Content quality has nothing to do with votes. Don't believe me, go checkout trending page.

"Content quality has nothing to do with votes. Don't believe me, go checkout trending page."
That is subjective. Stake is what controls. If anyone wants to control, then gather more stake. Individually, or collectively. It's as simple as that. But there is no law or regulation that defines quality or what it should be worth.
Content quality earning the largest vote power is a great ideal, expressed in the white paper. But it is only an ideal. And, since quality is subjective, an unrealistic ideal that should never have been expressed.
People make a choice how to cast their votes and easy money will win out every time. History proves this with very few exceptions. So what? I say. Stake is power and everyone is free to choose how they wield it. I repeat, anyone(individual or group) that wants to control, needs to control the stake. Until then, SteemmIt is what SteemIt is, and the drama is boring and useless.
Well, that's my view at least, and everyone is entitled to their own view.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting, this is what SteemIt is really about, IMO.
So, go have some fun writing posts or more comments, or arguing if that is what you are into,
JUST KEEP DOING IT!

You have a capitalist way of thinking. I like that. I am not complaining in any way. I like the way things are. I enjoy figuring out how to beat the system. That was the idea behind steem. Gamification of social media using blockchain

What do you mean by stake?

Steem power. That's your stake. However much steem power you have is how much your vote is worth. Reputation doesn't really matter, only stake. You can earn your stake over time, or you can buy steem with outside dollars and power it up.
My stake is 959 powered up steem. My 100% vote is worth $0.13.
Some 100% whale votes are worth several hundred dollars. Once I got a partial upvote from berniesanders worth $25.00.
So, stake is everything in SteemIt.
Pardon me if this is stuff you already know. Sometimes it's better to say too much rather than not enough. If you have more questions, I will answer to the best of my ability.

I've been on steemia since January and still don't know which one is stake power and no pointers to tell me. I've got 400 steem on one of the exchanges and don't know how to put it on steemit, but after my password stopped working for two weeks and only luck and perseverance getting on at steemit help did I get it back and working with no explanation why, so not that happy to send or buy steem here now.

good luck

Hello there! Welcome to Steemit and Dmania!

Nice!

Worth a chuckle, I thought! Sometimes we take ourselves way too seriously, regardless of the side we are on.