Your opinions are expressed very clearly. And they are excellent. We need more people like you here to move it. And we always support such voice. Upvoted 100%

This is certainly so true, looking forward to the future of steem, keep it up :) I liked the crabs in a bucket analogy too, very good way to put it!

Way to slide in the "crabs in a bucket" analogy from the Steem whitepaper ha ha

tell it brother tell it!! hard work. period. fiat if you have it, stay positive and our new steemit saying “no one ever leaves!” lol
most just rant and gripe yet you see or hear them on repeat. as youve mentioned:

steem pushes ahead and we are but a mere speck in tge process of where we will be 5-10-30 yearsfrom now!! 

cant wait to moon!! 🌙

I bought Steem at $4.30
I bought Steem at $2.60
I bought Steem at $1.50
I bought Steem at $0.90

I will continue to buy Steem. The lower it crashes the easier it is to become a dolphin.

hmm... I'm not sure if this cryptosphere expresses something like reality at all. I wonder if I see it the way you do ... let me think. 

You said that people behave like crabs here. That may be true for some, but not for others. ... we don't need to debate that. 

As far as the operator of this blockchain is concerned, and as far as I understand it correctly, the greatest handicap is in the hands of Steemit Inc. It regulated the initial conditions and granted the functionality of the blockchain. Is it a marketplace? If so, what else does the operator offer? How much does he take care of the marketplace that was once created? How can this be checked and how transparent is the business policy in this respect? 

All Internet companies that provide social media platforms seem to have in common that they do not justify or disclose their business intentions. Can I care less about that, since the marketplace is now being animated by various other groups that see themselves as "communities"? What is a community? 

Something bothers me about your statement that everyone is responsible for themselves and accepts the existing conditions if they decide to participate. 

Nobody would come if there weren't some certain promises or prognoses that postulate something like success. There is a certain dishonesty to be found here...

The fact is, of course, that this is a highly speculative type of business. 
So I am investing my time and energy, although I cannot be sure that what I have invested will pay off. One must therefore ask oneself whether something like certainty can be created in this environment of uncertainty. 

The community creators who occupy certain niches and find followers try to do this by incorporating attractive incentives. But even here, nothing is really certain. It is operated on the basis of luck, chance, benevolence, loyalty and personal taste. That in itself is not unusual. We all do - but usually that is only one part of business - the other is some kind of Commitment. Without such commitment no one can make a demand. That is probably one of the sticking points here. I have the impression, it is defended very much that nobody can and should make demands, because this is in the nature of the thing of a cryptobased platform. I do not think that is right. Look, where the interests lay: a community driven niche - which names itself a community - must stay accountant for some form of certainty and should accept demands. 

A system that wishes its participants success must offer some security. If everything depends only on the arbitrariness, the current mood, the absorption capacity of the participants, such a system is not particularly stable and becomes increasingly unattractive for those who have an interest in community building. These people, for example, need investors with whom they can make a deal. I find it very irritating that individuals, for example, sometimes behave very submissively here and basically enter into a kind of unwritten contract on a non-negotiated basis with the donors (or delegations of VP). It is said: "If you play by our rules, deliver content that meets the set standards, your topic is interesting and new, then you will most likely be voted and promoted. This is basically far too insecure to get involved. 

That's why the moment you set an article to "publish" also feels like a moment of tension when you're waiting to see whether luck will come or not. Similar to a one-armed bandit in a casino. That's exactly the reason why the engagement doesn't take place to the satisfaction of the individual communities. If I don't have any reliability in a relationship, then there is a tendency to not meet the standard completely, to let less quality flow in etc., because basically nobody on the content receiving side felt really responsible for giving feedback, be it in the form of communication or in the form of financial distribution. Even if a whale supports a small fish for a while and upgrades the articles, it is never sure when it will stop, or why it started at all. It is not unusual for small fish and whales not to get to know each other, there is no communication between them. That in itself is particularly peculiar. 

You also can't know how much you can keep or fascinate your own readership, because here everything is very fleeting and superficial because of this uncertainty. 

It feeds such excesses as spam and not serious content, which are just blown out like a kind of stinking fart, because people basically find it contemptible. 

Doing business for the sake of doing business has always been frowned upon and will always remain so. Economy should always be a servant of people and keep an eye on their well-being, but never a master who invokes unclear and uncertain rules of the game. This applies to real business out there just as it does in here. Developers and engineers can be great drivers, but if they're the ones who think they should benefit the most, something goes wrong. 

Who can anyone turn to, except to a large anonymous mass that seems to say: Everything is your own responsibility, you're on your own here and the only thing you can do is take money in hand to run a reasonably reasonable market stall. Neither there is a contract with your buyers, nor a contract with your suppliers, the place operator itself, etc. - but that's just the risk. ...But I also think: In truth, risk is undesirable. Nobody, especially not the big investors, want to take too big a risk. 

In summary, one could say that in a sphere or a marketplace where there is no particular perceived higher order that can serve as a model for the market participants, the market players behave unreliably. You never know, will the vegetable stall with the extra-large apples be in its usual place tomorrow? Will he want to sell apples in the usual quality, although nobody has bought these apples from him in the last four weeks?

As I see it this place holds itself back from becoming a place of good health and quality as it does not serve the basic needs of people. 

One can try to become a community member. But as long as the rules of the game in a community are such that receivables and liabilities are unclear, the participants are quickly gone or become depressed. 

........

That was a long reply. Could say a lot more. But then it would become philosophical. 

Anyway, your article triggered a long chain of thoughts. I might be wrong, that is always a possibility, as this system is not easy to obtain.

I'm glad you're being honest. You stay and work hard or you leave. I don't think I'm important to the system but I'll stick to it as long as I want and leave of I want to leave.

- - -
**"I saw many who posted they were leaving Steem."** ..... I was think this text...and I want ask same .... why they think all must be good...what I see is that ...not ideal things teaches more ...than good and ideal things. 

And this... **"I believe Steem will get a lot bigger"**.... I believe same... I not know how I can say it... but some how this is for me the most logical thinking here to do. I feel there is something big coming up. 
- - -

i see it the exact same way! steem is a free market. Participate or try to improve it with ideas and applictions but nobody cares about deconstructive criticism. ps. your posts are amazing!

Your posts are very informative and I learn a lot from reading them, however the blue crabs caught my attention because I am hungry and I love crabs.  I love them steamed, fried and in gumbo.  Good image. 😊

Lots of truth here. Good read! 

Posted using [Partiko Android](https://steemit.com/@partiko-android)

I agree with you - for the most part: Success on Steemit *is* part luck - leaving a comment at this post and not that and so coming to the attention of X and not Y. But for the most part it is simply hard work, persistence, stamina. And it seems investing early helps too, like you said. As soon as I had "worked off" the 15 SP delegation I bought nearly 80 Steem. Not much, but it made life on the platform so much easier. Maybe some bigger accounts took that as a sign that I was serious about Steemit?

A lot of those "shunned" by other social media I could live well without - but that's what "mute" is for, right? But as shocked as I am about the posts of some people ("How can someone with the brain to form a full sentence believe that?"), as adamant I am about their right to post their believes - as long as they don't use abusive language etc. If someone wants to be taken seriously they have to take the others seriously, too.

I think a lot of those that complain were also led to believe Steem was a solution to make money quickly and that is unfortunate.  With so much history that supports the fact that nothing exists to make money easily and if it does, it is probably illegal; so many seek the quick buck trend.  I think that a positive approach of the latest bear market will truly lead a more powerful base of users that can generate value and build the ecosystem to its potential.

I am happy to be here too, no need for ingrates.

>*I believe Steem will get a lot bigger. For that reason I am willing to put the time and effort into this along with some extra money I can put together.*

Buying a little here and there whenever you can is really important. I have been doing so sporadically but want do get in the habit of doing so at least every other paycheck.

Posted using [Partiko iOS](https://steemit.com/@partiko-ios)

Heh, I just wrote a post about how I am struggling to find motivation to keep on steeming. This is a great point of view. It really doesn't matter what I decide, as steemit will keep steeming on (and I know this fact, but still, an interesting thought.) However, it is hard to find the motivation in the lulls of Steemit. I have been on this platform for over 2 years. I have gone thru at least 4 waves of peaks to lulls, and we are in a lull right now. I love the times when Steemit is electric and everyone is abuzz about this platform. But I also know that it is the ones that trudge through the lull that can enjoy the peaks much more. I see you are very optimistic about Steemit. I struggle with that optimism, but appreciate seeing it from others. Thanks for the good read.

> People are like crabs in a bucket. There is no need to put a lid on the bucket to keep the crabs in. They do that for you. When one starts to escape the others pull that crab down.

I like that you reference the whitepaper ;) Many of the features of this blockchain are designed with exactly this behavior in mind.

This is an awesome read. Yeah people will never be happy. I agree with everything you said here. I am lucky to have the support of a whale and also Dtube but that doesn't mean I feel I am better than others. I put the work every single day and also I try to give back to other members as much as I can.
This week for the first time I have used bidbots and made an investment of 100 Steem in each obviously thinking about the rewards but mainly the exposure... Because I wanted to take that messages to more people... Will I be profiting?? Not really... I guess the majority of whales in here are not to keen on my content so even if they saw it they didn't thought it add anything to the community eheheh but I am fine with it. We can't make everyone happy 😉 resuming people want the rewards but they don't want to put the work. Lol

Posted using [Partiko Android](https://steemit.com/@partiko-android)

To each his or her own.  For me, being able to buy Steem  for under a dollar seems like a bargain..

I am adding to my SP as I can afford to.

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I was looking through content from the Blockchain LA conference yesterday. They had some big name speakers like NN Taleb and Naval Ravikant. It seemed like a lot of focus was on EOS dApps ecosystem, for example Sense.chat dApp. Unfortunately, no mention of Steem dApps that I could see. Any idea why?

Here’s the twitter feed https://mobile.twitter.com/hashtag/blockcon2018

Posted using [Partiko iOS](https://steemit.com/@partiko-ios)

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I am so grateful for this space! It's awesome to be in the mix amongst the newest of technologies that has the ability to allow the change i want to see in the world! While i notice ppl that have left and there are some i will/ would never forget, yourself included @taskmaster4450. I wonuldn't waste too much time  boohooing their going. I embrace what is. And, what is coming. I would totally invest fiat if i had it in abundance atm.  I don't cry about not gaving it either. I try to post the best I can. And,  engage the best I can. Ppl will always have more and less than i do. The cool thing is, i walk and live in my way! It's unique. Powerful. Enough to unite with other likeminds and forge the #ageofabundance unpon us. Which is available for everyone willing to recieve,  heal and be the change!! 

Another note about @exyle  he resently mentioned he's posted daily for 500+ times. That type of commitment and consistency goes a long way!   

Great article! Have a fantastic day!!