I'm not trying to be some kind of Steemit cop. I don't even flag spammers in my own comments. I'm sensitive to the fact many of these people are less advantaged and just looking to make sorely needed income to improve their lives with. Me too, though I'm doing it from a first world country, so I'm already ahead of the game and fully conscious of that disparity.
For that reason I am not as viscerally bothered as some by follow and upvote begging. The other side of it may be cultural, as I've discussed before. At any rate if there's any confusion about the matter, let me clarify; it is considered bad manners to outright solicit follows and upvotes.
In the comments of an article of theirs you didn't read, certainly. But also taking it to their Facebook! I am sure it must seem like a tempting way to snag the ear of dolphins and whales, but it will have the opposite of the effect you want. They are likely to avoid you because of it.
My Facebook is accessible from Steemit not for the purpose of Steemians contacting me to ask that I follow and upvote them. It's because when you're a professional author, you need a social media presence to reach a wide audience and it needs to be accessible everywhere your writing is, so people can find more of it.
It's not a place to approach me asking that I upvote or follow you. It's where I do stuff like negotiating translations of my work into other languages, collaborating with other authors and interacting with fans. I do not want it to become as cluttered with "Waow intredastig artical Hello yes pls upvote and follow my blog beautiful thanks friend" type messages as my comments usually are.
I probably will never be in enough of a critical, punitive mood to start flagging stuff like that. I know other people often do. I hope it's just a matter of waiting out the adjustment period. Otherwise, it would seem that Steemit's explosion into the international space is going to be our Eternal September.