So, how is that different from the old "whales" of Steem, now hive, that have all these power to vote, and usually vote on their own friends and "projects"?

What kills this place isn't smaller communities trying to play the same game old whales have been playing since day one of Steem...

What kills this place is the eternal hypocrisy of these whales, posing as "the guardians of Hive"