I explored Steemit for a couple of days before I joined. During that time, I read tons of articles on all kinds of different subjects, and learned a lot about how the site works. For example, if I hadn't been reading articles with titles that appealed to me, I wouldn't have known you're expected to do an #introduceyourself post, and include a photo with a verification of your identity in it. I wouldn't have known about categories. I wouldn't have an idea of who the big players were or what types of articles tended to trend on the front page. I wouldn't have gotten motivated to actually get on here and join in the fun.
I started out making comments, then made my first post yesterday. It was my introduction post, and I admit, figuring out how to get pictures into my post was a bitch. I couldn't get the image insertion button to work for me at all, and I couldn't find any helpful instructions with a search of the site.
I ended up putting WordPress on an unused domain of mine, and uploaded images to the file library. That gave me a URL for each photo. I then took those URLs, switched my post screen here to show me the raw HTML, and inserted the URLs where I wanted the images. That worked for me, and I was able to get images in my post.
I still have no idea what curation rewards and author rewards are, or how to earn them. But, I'm learning as I go, and I'm sure I'll stumble across it at some point. Someone has to have written about it somewhere, right?
Yes, posting on the site isn't very user-friendly for people who have ZERO coding or website-building experience. At least a basic knowledge of HTML is helpful. Those who don't have it will probably move on quickly, unless they just want to read articles and write comments.
I actually enjoy reading many of the articles here, and commenting is fun, productive, and a good way to be a part of the community if you aren't posting. But, most people probably sign up to post, and may get discouraged when it is more complex to put a post here than on other sites they're used to.
Maybe if there was a Guide to Posting on Steemit in the dropdown menu, it would help people who really do want to post here, but get discouraged and move on when it isn't as simple as they thought it would be. Most people want something easy. The vast majority aren't going to take the time to explore and learn on their own.