I feel like this is the free market at work. Steemit Chat is great but maybe the market didn't feel like it should be paid $500k per year when perhaps $90k per year is enough to cover all the operating costs and pocket a reasonable profit besides.
He could've campaigned to try and get back into the top 21, right? Perhaps adding a few flashy features to get attention and reach the trending page a few times?
He's free to do it his way, but I don't think the system itself is flawed in this case.
I feel like we can safely agree to disagree on this one. I truly believe that top 21 witnesses should provide serious extra services, the type @jesta does, or @riverhead, with his chat. Top 21 witnesses are active stakeholders, they are actually improving the system. This is different from what a huge token owner, a whale, does. A whale can live very easily off of curation / interest rewards, without clogging the pipe of the 21 witnesses with a static spot.
On the other hand, nobody said Steemit is fair. Nor is it life, FWIW...
" I truly believe that top 21 witnesses should provide serious extra services"
yup I believe this too, and also agree that whales are not automatically good witnesses
I felt like this also. I don't use steemit.chat, (which isn't to say it isn't important) I haven't heard or seen a sign of @riverhead since he flagged Beanz for opening a channel on Discord.
I guess we are magically supposed to know what he contributes and what his costs are.
Instead of writing a few posts explaining what he is doing, he throws a rage fit and shuts down steemit.chat. If those are his problem solving skills I am glad he isn't on the top of the witness list.