This goes a long way to solving a fundamental problem with Steem, and that is the automated systems that take a little slice of Steem (basically a transaction fee) to provide a service that solves a problem that these systems created in the first place.
Upvote bots are not a long term sustainable business model, and it's obvious that the velocity of Steem has plummeted even as the price drops and the supply inflates. While the bots can be used to fund a project, Steem-engine is even more effective to fund a project in that users will fund a good idea, instead of someone running a bidbot to fund a project that they personally think is great but may flop because it wasn't something users want.
Steem is prepped to take an evolutionary step, and the bidbots are going to shrink in the broader ecosystem where creativity and innovation get the funding instead of a vote-ception market. And vote bots will die anyway and be replaced with communities that collectively vote where the good content is, instead of letting their account be used for paid upvotes that only reinforce a need for paid upvotes to keep the circle jerk going.
End of an era, beginning of a new era. The negativity surrounding these changes is to be expected, but once the growth and potential of a broader system is realized, the developers who are simply in for a quick buck will be forced to compete in a broader software market against other talent for funding, which will increase the price of Steem on the open market and incentivize developers to produce content that users actually want.
HF 21 gives hope.