The profit motive turned everyone to acting on their own self-interest. Not saying that's a bad thing, that is just my observation. Until all curators and authors care about this community to a greater extent than simply the pump and dump mechanism that it is (let's be honest here), then nothing is going to change.

No one should be surprised that the instantaneous pecking order that developed overnight resulted in sharp divisions and regression into calls for "fairness" from people who are typically staunch advocates of capitalism and individual achievement. Hell, I was pretty frustrated, myself, how the trending thing developed. It still bothers me to the point where I ceased to see this as a profit opportunity. When I let that go, the frustration ceased.