In reply to my Good Intentions post, 
...But the post mostly got me thinking about my actions here on Steemit... I used to use Smartsteem to buy votes, and tried bidbot out once or twice)... I have since stopped and feel very happy about it... The votes I've been getting since have all been "organic". And THEN, I noticed, you use bots, lol.... What are your thoughts on the controversy? How do you justify using a system that many people have pointed out is bad for the platform in the long run?
Let me start by saying that the intent behind this writing is not to “justify” anything, that's not me. However, if someone (anyone) asks me a straightforward question, I usually reply, if I can.
Here is my reply...
“Many people”.... Which people are those? Users who are merely debating, and are themselves trying to figure things out? Or do you mean whales, which are themselves regularly making profits (and, for the record, there is nothing wrong with that either)?
Basically, there is no controversy. I am using the system, and I am feeding the system, and by that I mean Steemit. That is the system we are actually talking about and using, all else are parts or aspects of it. I have been feeding it from almost the start, and I don't mean just by posting quality, original content (artworks, stories, musings, etc.), but, one and a half months ago, I bought Steem.
That was the first step.
My upvote went up to about 10 cents or something. That's nothing.... so I invested another 1000 Euros, or so, and bought a Steem Power delegation.
Now let me tell you, that is NOT an advisable thing to do!
It means that I have a higher upvote for 3 months, and then it's gone! My thousand euros are gone.
It doesn't pay off...
Do you want to know how I look at it?
I can support those I want to support in a better way.
For 1000 Euros, I could possibly buy one piece of art, or maybe a couple of smaller things, maybe...
OR....
I could take that same amount and spread it across lots of artists (and others) and support them all a bit. Support them in that which they have chosen to do (which is to be here, on Steemit).
And why?
Because that's me. I have always done that.
I love art, I create art, I buy art. I have always supported the arts in various ways.
I already have a beautiful collection of artworks by other artists that I have accumulated over the years. Some I have bought, some were gifts.
Because that is what you do if you really love art.
Sometimes, whenever you can, you also buy it.
And still, despite of investing 1000 Euros of my money into “the engine”, or actually more than that, when you consider my first investment into Steemit, I also bought actual art in this time, from artists who are on Steemit!
Twice!
Not to forget, by buying that Steem Power delegation. I mentioned, I am supporting Steemit and the Steem currency I am directly supporting the system itself.
So no, I don't see any controversy in my behavior. Like I wrote in my “good intentions” article, things are not always as they seem.
Now, to specifically answer the question regarding the usage of bots:
I am exploring and experimenting, I am trying things out,.. That is what I do.
When I am ready to share my thoughts and findings regarding that particular aspect of the system, because that's all it is, just a part of the whole, I will write an article, and share my conclusions with everyone.
Until then, there is no more to say.
Money doesn't mean so much to me. It has never been a prime motivator in my life, for anything. Not in some harder periods in my life, and now even less so ..., and so, the peanuts that can be earned here wouldn't be worth my while. That's not why I am here.
I care about other things.