I was also a bit disappointed with yabpamatt's response and I would love it if there were only real players on Splinterlands but now that I realize that will never be possible because Splinterlands wants bots at least giving the same opportunity to play for the cards that bots have also to humans would be a nice step forward and I hope at least that will happen.
If that stance continues, don't think we'll have a game on the long term. Hoping for brighter days... without bots! Or as you say, bot free different modes!