On your edit about the PR, that was me! Very happy it went through. 😆 You beat me to an announcement, so I just made one I was planning for a slightly less tired moment 😉

It's really interesting that you mention the increased economic impact of HF 19 made you consider your own actions more. I've spoken to many who have also had this experience, as have I.

But a system like Steem must be designed to take into account all aspects, especially the negative. I don't think we can expect everyone to behave "well" unless the incentives are there to do so. Even a few scammers, spammers or otherwise negative actors can disrupt things for the rest. After all blockchain technology is built on the assumption of mostly honest actors while allowing for some dishonest ones. We need to bear that in mind.

I really think that self voting should be removed at the blockchain level. I'd love to hear your thought on this proposition.

Btw I think that answers the question "when is self-voting okay, if ever?" - not at all. I've laid out my reasoning in other posts, but it boils down to this: we are not qualified to judge our own work and reward accordingly.