A great post @surfermarly, some of your points I had wondered in a previous post of mine "how to help steemit grow" ..
I am only 2 and a half months old here and as I joined it was really hard for me to understand the scope, to see the greater picture, to find valuable content and to discover the people behind it.
It turns out that there is the content, there are the people.
But you have to try hard, to search in a variety of ways to find them.
An to be heard, to have a voice, this also takes some time.
Many worthy people may just leave without understand the potential, because it will need time + guidance.
Not to mention all these bots and automated responses that a new person does not know how to handle. I have witnessed a case where someone sent sbds and lost them, and all this for a vote!
I understand your concerns and I believe your voices are important to be heard ... We look up to you and some of us will do our best for this platform.
We need to share a greater vision...
This revolutionary concept requires a community with a healthy and stable culture, shared values and common practice. Otherwise it'd be just another website.
All the best from Crete, Greece
@katerinaramm