lol! HF19 stands for "hard fork 19" which is basically Steemit geek lingo for "significant change in the way the website is run" which is done through witnesses voting and some developers making the changes happen. They do them periodically.. I'm not sure which one we are on? But 19 was the one where they shifted voting power a little bit so that minnows had a bit more influence (you'll notice that people with full wallets have a LOT of power in their votes--one "whale" could single-handedly keep you doing really well on the platform.
I tend to dislike a lot of artists, too! Especially poets.. ah.. I'm extremely picky, although I also try to see potential in attempts as well, and not be too elitist about it either. In general, though, you'll find that Steemit's quality is waaaaaaay above what you see elsewhere. I was expecting the same thing as you, and of course you have to sift a little bit, but there is much more great quality than I expected. Not as much wincing as you'd think.
..except for the poetry. Most of it is painfully sentimental dross with no poetic effort beyond predictable rhymes and teen-girl journal free verse.. harsh, I know. But a bit true, and it doesn't bother me to say as they get a TON of upvotes, so whatever. Talking about it here just made me grumpy so I don't look at the tag anymore or talk about it much. haha
But most everything else has been a very pleasant surprise. Lots of disenfranchised but intelligent and talented artists have come here like moths to a flame. You'll enjoy it, I think!