The issue is quite frustrating and I would hate to see a valuable contributor like you leaving because of it.
As I have commented on other posts about this matter, I don't think its necessarily a flaw in the "system". Its what people make of it.
Unfortunately at the moment it looks like the revolution is eating its children, because all steemians are equal, but some steemians are more equal than others. So the "flaw" lies in human nature and we try to control the gene that helped us once to survive as a species with moral and ethics. Unfortunately not a very powerful tool, when it comes to greed and profit.
In situations like that I have to always think of Gandhi who supposedly said: "you have to be the change you want to see in the world" and to all those who think they are to small, remember the Dalai Lama when he asked: "have you ever tried to sleep with a mosquito in the same room?"
I will be here for a while longer, just not posting as often.
The story about buying votes and gaming the system just took the wind out of my sails. While I value the real live people that comment on my posts, how many are just bots tick-tocking away?
I've heard the same sentiment that "Steemit is what you make of it", but I'm not convinced - only because the ecosystem seems to encourage and reward mindless automation. I have no tools to fight this. I can't flag every bot post and still have resources left to reward real creators.
That means the system has an inherent flaw that if left unchecked, means the eventual ruin of the whole thing. Just like a single tree root can crack pavement and foul pipes, the weeds of botting and automated money-suckers is a real force.
I'd love to be proven wrong, but I'm not seeing it so far.
If Steemit is the person sleeping in the room, the real question is - "How many mosquitos does it take before the body is drained dry?"
We're watching that play out right now, and I'm not optimistic about its chances.
I understand very well, what you are saying and for me as an artist there is an equivalent to this in the real world, that I and my colleagues have been dealing with for decades: The art market! A few rich folks use it to make insane amounts of money by manipulating the system in their favor.
Does it mean I stop painting, because they won't let me play in their sand box? Sure, I get frustrated, when some retard throwing a brush at a canvas leaving a red blob gets 10000 times more for his "art" than I do for something I worked on for a long time with love and devotion. But then again, I feel privileged, that I carved out my own niche and that I can make a decent living as an artist.
So, what does it mean for me being here on steemit? Everybody knows, there are some major flaws. Funny thing is, I think half the reward pool goes to discussions about that...
But there are lots of great people here adding extraordinary content. And that's the part I like :-)
We create our own "neighborhood" in this virtual city and it will always remain much more alive and interesting than the bank district ;-)