@steevc I think you make some good points.
I don't believe that we will get as far as 'ping time' impacting curation. I think that the sliding 30min window will simply push curators down another avenue before we get anywhere near that point.
Bot's do serve a purpose. They are currently indexing tools, and also, moving into the future, the more intelligent they get, the more service they will provide to Steemit. Certainly though, some bot's/many bots add no value whatsoever here.
I don't mind you saying that at all. I apologise, gramma is not my forte. I will try my best to improve, however you will likely see these mistakes often from myself..
I recommended this to @smooth below, but you also may be interested in this post :)
Human vs. Bot Curators - Introducing Human Competition into the Equation - Allow Whales to Delegate Curation Power to Dolphins and Minnows