This has been a fight I've been engaging in since you and I started on the same day more than a year ago. I hadn't really been heavily targeted myself until recently, but I was always arguing on the behalf of others as I was seeing the negative impact it was having on this project. Some of the people are so powerful that there is no way to challenge them, if they want to abuse someone they will and apparently nothing can be done about it.
I don't know an obvious solution but this is the biggest NEGATIVE problem that I believe steem/it has. Resteemed.
The fight needs to be taken directly to the Steemit developers. The people doing this won't change their behavior, and the day after your last post on the subject, I saw someone else's post go under attacked and get wiped off the face of steemit. I could barely believe it. Two people get into a dispute over something, and one literally told his followers to down vote the other guy. Poof! Post no longer visible and his account worthless.
Yep, I am not sure what to do about it at this time other than keep challenging it until perhaps some day someone who CAN do something about it listens. Silence is acceptance.
I remember that day and our previous conversations....nice to see you again!