You were one of the first people I met here. You saw when I had fuck all. I remember telling you I had a special way of doing things and I said I'd be making this work. I don't know if you remember that.
All of that abuse you mentioned still bothers to me. The dark side to this place. I get thrown into that pile. Constantly. I can't have one conversation about bots or any of the politics here without being accused of foul play by people who have no clue who I am or what I do.
I know a lot of people are leaving. Like I said, we're all responsible for our own decisions. I guess if certain things don't change and I'm forced out as well, I'll just sell votes to these penny scrapers while I get paid to look away like so many others. They can cling on to this odd idea they're somehow going to get places here, while I make more money off of their work than they do. That's what they want, isn't it?
I truly enjoy what I do here though. Turning into that token farmer passive income mess doesn't sit well with me. That's not what I want to do. I don't like using people. Hustling cigs works, but it sucks. Can't put that on a job resume.
Yes, of course I remember, I might be 50+ but my memory still works (kind of.) =D You did make it work, your own brand, your own unique you.
It does feel a kind of sad how things changed around here. Some could argue 'evolve'. And that one could adapt. But like you stated:
And it is true, I am convinced of that as being a fact, that we are here voluntarily. Although some might disagree on that. Just like it is our free choice to go and do something else, or go and spend some quality time elsewhere.
If you decide to take a different turn, Steem will probably still be here after a while as your account is for ever engraved in the blockchain. Sometimes a break can put things in perspective. Or a new adventure.
You could delegate SP, gaining a passive income, the Steem Power will grow on and on. But as you stated this would be against what you belief in, so then you can get some Steem out. Let some be as SP, as dividend, kind of a savings account. Many possible ways.
Working on quality publications will look good on a job resume. At least I think so.
You could take a break, take a step back and return whenever you feel like it. If memory serves me right you did have a Steem-Break before. Things could change for the good with Smart-Media-Tokens in march 2019. (That is why I leave about 500 SP in my account.)
Or there may be other places where you can have a go. Steem to me changed, a lot and 'the game rules' seemed to have changed with it. People like you, that I'm glad I had the pleasure of meeting here virtually, made it worth while. And still do, even though I've been scratching for nickels and dimes for a long time already.
That kind of 'scraping for left-overs' is okay though, to some extend I adjusted my time and effort to match it. While still having a good time and even maybe started to write a bit more open. Freedom of expression locked in a blockchain, that's awesome.
In a sense though knowing when to enter, might be just as important as knowing when to exit.
Wish you all the best, wisdom and good luck.
And, see you when I see you!