We just need to make sure that the amount of evil we tolerate doesn’t prevent Steem from growing
There are very good arguments that n^2 has too much evil and prevents (or at least inhibits) Steem from growing.
I'm sorry, but you are elevating the Steem white paper to some sort of holy text or carefully researched and peer-reviewed science, and it really isn't that. It is a marketing pitch that got written and implemented in a few months to launch a blockchain product.
I've never implied the Steem white paper couldn't be wrong. I even said I could be wrong about linear rewards many times and I also said I would prefer to be wrong about linear rewards.
It's not necessarily the most fun feeling to disagree with people you care about. It's important to stand up for what we think is true yet remain open about the fact we could be wrong, which is something I've been upfront about.
Fair enough. And disagreeing does not mean that you do not respect or like the person.
For that matter, often when I 'disagree' I'm not even necessarily claiming the statement is incorrect as much as not well supported. (Unsure without review how much this applies to our recent spread-out conversation.)