Dear Steemians, I was writing this all down in my morning blog and by the end, I decided it needs its own post.
So I saw this new project here on Steemit where a bot is going to downvote self-votes on comments (if I'm getting this right). Now I know this might make me a target for disapproval, but I'm going to admit to you guys that I self-vote on my comments sometimes. Not the simple 'Thank you' comments, but the longer ones. You know why? Because I'm getting more and more frustrated with this place and many times, I am basically the only way I can still earn something.
This is what happens when I leave things alone and simply promote my posts in the appropriate chat channels. Would you like to compare those payouts to the payouts some newbies are getting recently, which regularly manage to climb up into the hundreds? I saw some gaming posts earning over $200.00 yesterday and compared to mine, they really weren't any better. I'm not saying mine are great, they are just not worse than those.
I know not all of my posts are worth much, but I have shared some nice quality things. Often though, the only way I can even get to ten is by using 
So yes, I self-upvote a comment once in a while, because that feels like the only way I can still earn anywhere near to what I used to earn from upvotes, which are now being re-directed to newbies, simply for being new.
Guess what, I'm still a minnow too, because I didn't get a big break, simply for being new.
I don't really want to self-upvote my comments and I always do make sure I have enough power left to support the people I follow, but in the next few months, I actually might need the money I earn here. I'd love to earn for quality, but I feel that's not what's happening at the moment. So when people stop voting crazy high on simplistic posts because they come from newbies, and start giving the loyal members the light of day again, I will stop self-voting on some of my comments.
I try to be fair here, I've helped out a lot of newbies in the past by giving them some extra attention through my blog and by answering their questions and worries. I still do sometimes. Those actions go by unnoticed and I don't really mind that much, but I do mind that I am now getting passed by for not being new.
I have struggled to get to where I was. I have worked my butt off to get meaningful followers and slowly grow my earnings. And they did grow! Lately, however, I can hardly get any upvotes anymore. I am not happy that I now have to work my butt off for a $2.00 payout, because I'm not new, while the newbies get a break for being new and don't have to do much at all for big payouts left and right.
Can you not see you're hurting the community like this?
I would not be writing about this if it was just me. I am lucky enough to still get a small break now and then. I would simply write off the rest as frustration and people not liking me or my writing. I was always mostly invisible out there in the real world, so why wouldn't I be online? However, I hear this same story from many long-time members. Those of us who weren't lucky enough to be here in the first few months and who don't have the cash to buy our way to more Steem Power. We feel neglected and passed by on every side. I think all of our newbie supporters need to stop to think for a second and start worrying about the long time members who worked hard for this platform.
Isn't it important that the older members stay on? The loyal members who have worked their butts off? The people who still have big dreams for this place? The people who want to improve their quality of writing? The people who are here for more than just a quick buck?
Earnings aren't everything, but can you try to understand how frustrating it is to see your regular payouts drop from $15.00 (and the occassional $30.00) to $2.00 or $3.00 (and the occassional $10.00), while newbies earn hundreds? I don't think I have ever, in my entire Steemit life, went into the hundreds.
Do you really feel people deserve that much, simply for being new? I do not believe those posts are worth so much and if you start to think about the long term implications and stop thinking short term, you are just setting them up for disappointment. Because one day, these newbies won't be new and they will be the ones writing these kind of posts.
Only they will not be sad about losing $15.00 payouts. They will be sad about losing $100.00 payouts.
I know it's crazy for me to still think upvotes are based on quality at all, because we all know that's not the case for many people. I will still use my votes that way though. And you know what? I will keep supporting newbies, but I will not set them up to fail. There is plenty of that going around already.
I support the people I value on this platform (long standing minnows) with votes ranging from 10-20%. Either for being stand-up people, or for writing good posts. I support new people with votes ranging from 1-5% and a hearty welcome (which is much more important). I support great posts with ~50%, no matter who they come from.
I refuse to give newbies crazy payouts on posts that aren't worth it. The occassional great intro gets over 5%, but besides that, I welcome them and give them a small upvote, which is generous enough in my eyes. If they share my interests, I follow them and when they write good posts, I will reward them accordingly, but they will not get a 100% upvote on crap, simply because they are new.
I would like to say to all the newbie supporters: There are simply too many of you and you are setting them all up for disappointment. I know it's hard, but stop thinking short-term. Spead your love. There are more than just newbies here (and you're even missing some of those in your upvotes aswell).
Stop ignoring the long-time members!
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