Since the last HF i saw a dramatic change at the payouts of creatives. Artists that got a few cents are now nicely rewarded and keep posting better and better posts. You @acidyo and the OCD team are the only ones who are actually doing sth to improve the ecosystem of Steem. The onboarding program was a very good idea, aside the fact that is really tough to invite new users i think it would be successful when the circumstances change a bit. The GU also very good and in my mind it shows an example of how Steem could work in the future to promote projects or games. About the downvotes, it is only logical to expect reactions but if someone takes a closer look at the downvoted posts will see that most of them are actually deserved it. Stay strong, you have a lot of trust and support from the community:)