>...and represent an illegitimate use of the ninja-mine (which was supposed to be for funding purposes and not be used for stake voting except in cases of emergency)...

I recall this argument being made many times in the past when STINC did similar things with their stake. Since HF18, they have added several millions of SP into the daily voting pool from their ninja-mined stake via delegation and other transfers to delegating accounts. Every instance of this translates into more dilution of influence for actual investors. 

But it isn’t enough to dilute all other investor influence - they also pick and choose “winners and losers.” And it seems that more often than not, they make terrible decisions regarding where the SP is delegated. How many times have we seen things mentioned in this OP play out...starting with Steem Guild in the fall of 2016? 

Despite the frequency and/or severity of the abuses, these mistakes continue.

This delegation nonsense really needs to stop - *especially* from STINC...and *especially* because of how it was acquired and how they are perceived as the “leadership” of what’s billed as a *decentralized* blockchain. 

What are your thoughts on delegation overall and the idea of eliminating it altogether?

I can't wait for the same issues to happen on eos , people think the pre Ninja mining really matters that much. There will always be whales. Mute function works wonders.

Well said. 

The context of this specific stake (and its blurry justification) is a key factor in why it shouldn't be used for purposes like this. I'm sure there are some similarities that could be drawn between this usage of the stake and the dev-originating witness voting of the past, both which go against the devs ability to stay a neutral party.

well i can't say, everything and anything is possible but it's hardly difficult to really state  one's opinion because there are more powerful people here, 
however we all know the right thing and we should adhere to it

Great point you bring up there... 

The truth is that I totally get that we as a community, as the people who participate of this blockchain should not feel powerless, should not feel like we can't create initiatives, apps or what have you to boost and protect our investment on this platform.  I know that to some of Steem Inc Staffers, us complaining seems annoying and completely counter productive... I get all that...

But my point, the reason why this is upsetting becomes, if we(the users) are in charge of the future of this blockchain then why don't we know.. and I mean clearly know the rules of the game we are participating in?

It's great that you bring up one of these "game rules" to light....

<center><b>"Ninja mine is supposed to be used for funding, not for voting.. except in emergencies."</b></center>

First I hear of this, but I clearly remember this delegations being given to users with no projects/apps running on this platform. So even this original game rule needed a revision from the start.

<center><b>"Ninja mine is supposed to be used for funding, not for voting.. except in emergencies... or... when it is used for voting because it was given to someone with a blog about food and traveling"</b></center>

Again, I'm not trying to start a fight... I just would like to understand what the game plan is, if its a business, because it is... then the finances, the resources, should not be used like a the drawer of a mom and pop bakery....

Wow super upvote 153.97 congratulations