1. Inflation
2. The complexity of the system to learn for average person
3. Privacy options - there are none
4. Censorship/flag trolls.
The first is a major flaw that has been written about plenty of times. The second and third aren't so much a major flaw but are still hindrances to adoption.
The fourth is one that continues to be underestimated. Identify the attributes of the largest social networks, and you will see that none of them have a notification system that can be as easily abused as Steemit's flag system.That alone can destroy the platform's ability to grow and can even lead to its potential failure.
A scenario that will increase in likelihood when competitors see an opening in the market and see that Steemit team isn't taking corrective action. Think of it from a customer service point of view, and it's easier to understand it creates a marketing nightmare.
For every person that falls victim to these trolls, they will tell ten people they know to avoid wasting their time on the platform. That type of growth is exponential. In business, these are the kinds of ripples that gets CEOs fired in an attempt to salvage the company's reputation.
The flag system needs only a minor overhaul, but it's been over a year since these complaints have started to appear, and the team refuses to acknowledge that allowing any one person to take away the income potential and reputation of another at will, this is producing a major problem. It's insane and completely unsustainable.
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