I doubt I'll make it to 4 years, but I've been working on Steem/Hive full time for more than 3.
I find it gets less accessible and user friendly as time goes on (and it didn't start very accessible or user friendly).
The fact that the currency is inherently designed to lose value over time wasn't known to me at the start, so I put $5000 into this chain, which was everything I had to invest. Put your money where your mouth is, they say. Power up for victory, they say. Haha. We have gone from top 10 to #147 on the crypto cap list while I've been pouring myself into this place. For $5000 invested and 3 years of full time work, I have $1300 to show for it. Not $1300 profits.... $1300 total. That's what happens when a currency loses 90% of its value, every year. No matter how much of it you bring in, you're still losing.
I refuse to use smart devices, and I can't have a bank account. So that's my line in the sand and it can't move. For me, privacy and decentralization are not just wishes, they're necessary for my survival. I have found recently that Bitcoin is not private or decentralized in any way, and that it's not possible to use cryptos without a smart device and/or involving governments, big corporations, and banks. Crypto isn't private or decentralized. Steem/Hive is the same - not private, and not decentralized. I can't even move my tokens around anymore without a smart device, bank account, or government ID. The promises of crypto have not been realized, and we're moving further and further away from them every day.
How to survive here? Simple. Be willing to give everything and get nothing, year after year, with no hope for anything else. If you can do that, you'll easily survive here as long as you want.
PS: This comment won't post. I'm getting an error: "Transaction broadcast error: Obsolete form of transaction detected, update your wallet."
It posted.🙂 I have been only able to see Hive on PeakD which I am not fond of using.... I am not sure what is wrong. No one is talking or answering to anyone that has been asking.
I read your comment 6 times and my heart hurts for you in many ways.
The only advice I can give is a story for you to do with what you wish.
I knew nothing about crypto. I did not want to get an account on an exchange for many reasons that are private. When the price of Steem/Hive was so high 2.5 years ago I sent my son some of my earnings and he turned it into fiat for me then sent it to my Paypal.
I was lucky and had opened my e-mail account before you HAD to have a cell phone number so it all worked out for me to be able to get some of my money out to reinvest in an editing program for me to use and a game I wanted which I played and posted about on here.
So take that story for what it is worth...
I AM truly sorry to read your comment. There has to be a box not looked at to at least get your Steem out and to you.
Some network of people willing to help.....
What say you? A persons privacy is all-important. Some more than others.
There has to be a way around your dilemma.
XoX
I greatly appreciate your kind reply. Thanks for hearing me, and I apologize if I was off-topic at all.
I'll think about what you said, investigate all options, and see what the coming weeks bring.