( recent shot of witness list.. Back to #21 I guess.. FML - steemdb.com )
REVISION: Rolling back to v0.16.x
Holy f**king sh!t! Massive thank you to 
I made a mistake in trying to convince myself and others it was a good idea. I am sorry for accidentally leading anyone astray in this matter. HF17 needs a serious revisit before being deployed onto out network.. I'm human, seemingly one that makes lots of mistakes.
Original Post Below
Yesterday was one of the happiest days I've had in a long time. After months of trying to achieve the goal I'd set to secure a top 19 witness spot I'd finally hit my goal and spent the day strengthening my witness server infrastructure in order to provide dependable block creation for our STEEM network. I've deployed a dedicated 32GB server for my main block producer and thought I'd test out STEEM v0.17.0. This was a terrible mistake it seems.
Realizing that my old witness server running on an OVH VM was unsuitable for the task of producing blocks at a rate needed by a top 19 witness spot I pulled the trigger and got a dedicated server, tripling my operating costs to run a witness server for our network.
Roughly an hour or two ago I was expelled from my #15 position by loss of support from 
While I'm somewhat sad about this I feel the need to explain why I chose to run 0.17.0..
Let's make one thing very, very clear in this post:
I Don't 100% Support The Changes in HF17...
However, I DO support Progress & Experimentation
Standing in the way of progress isn't something I can knowingly do, no matter how small or large the progress is. Yes, there are some things included in v0.17.0 that I do not support at all, but what it boils down to is that while it may not be exactly what everyone wants, it is progress and to stifle it because "the rewards curve isn't what you want exactly" or "you don't agree with the new payout schema" is actually taking steps backwards in direction.
Agree With it Or Not.. We Need to Have Change
People get comfortable in routine and very rarely accept changes well. This is a fact.
But to deny progress because it's not exactly what one may want is nothing short of silly.
Let hardfork 17 come. Let us at the very least try it out, see if the community can adapt and accept the changes. If they hate it we can always make changes in a month while collecting feedback on exactly what needs tweaked and adjusted in order to make the majority of users happy. One thing to keep in mind is that it is impossible to please everyone at the end of the day and trying to do so will only slow down progress.. And frankly after hearing people complain about the slow progress Steemit Inc has made development wise but then to see the witnesses basically denying any form of evolution or progress seems short sighted and hypocritical. This isn't meant as a direct attack on anyone, their thoughts or beliefs.
Admittedly the v0.17.0 offering isn't "perfect", It's not likely the answer to all the perceived problems STEEM has... But you know what? It's progress! Is all of it the way I would like it? Absolutely not. But it's a starting point. Nothing stopping the progress of this network at this point other than people trying to have things exactly how they would choose to have them.. While I understand this is a democracy of sorts with people having the choice to elect whom they want representing the changes they want I can't help but think the way the HF17 rejection is being handled is anything less than a degeneration of the fundamentals of progress.
Without Progress, STEEM Will Slowly Die
We, as witnesses need to not be so critical and weary of change. After all, the general consensus I seem to hear is that the way the system is running many are unhappy with.
Are the proposed changes in 0.17.0 the exact thing that every STEEM user wants?
Absolutely not. But is it the step in the right direction? Could be! Let's find out shall we?
"Old Boy" Mentality and Witness List Collusion
It's been common knowledge for a while that Steemit Inc has the power between all the developer accounts to basically hand pick who ends up in the Top 19. While I can see the want to maintain loose control over the STEEM network as it is their best interest believe it or not it's not been Steemit Inc that has shown itself to me to be in collusion in keeping certain individuals on the top 19 list but early whale witnesses keeping each other on the list at the expense of up and coming witnesses like myself. Don't get me wrong, I'm well aware of human nature and that most individuals will prefer to support a friend over a stranger but what this leaves our DPOS of system basically becoming a circlejerk for lack of a better term.
Seems the old boy mentality is still very much alive and well here in regards to STEEM's DPOS system which relies on votes of peers to propel witnesses up the list. The guys who got into witnessing on the network early will knowingly manipulate the list to include their allies and friends over up and comers like myself. Even at rank #15 I still fell victim to this, with my top 19 position stripped from me in order for 
I guess I'll ask this one question: Do we want to be seen as a network that takes care of the early whales over the young aspiring developers? Surely the projected ~$800 CAD a month I would have made in the Top 19 spot means nothing more than piss in a bucket to some of these extremely STEEM laden accounts we see inhabiting the Top 19 list currently.. But to me that was a HUGE boost of income as well as morale.. Most of my living expenses would have been covered running a successful top 19 witness allowing me freedom to finish developing the STEEM services I've started building without fear of being homeless or starving.
TL:DR
I lost my Top 19 Position because I support trying out different things and the whales at be would much rather have their friends with +$200,000 net worth accounts be in the top 19 over a guy who struggles to survive while trying to develop web apps to increase the overall value of the STEEM network. Trying to stay positive but frankly this situation is absolute bullshit.
I'm tired of falling victim to collusion and having my morale and psyche devastated by people trying to line their friends already fattened pockets. As a community we must be weary.
Truth be told, now that this has happened a second time I'm debating pulling the plug on everything. It's clear to me I will be thrown under the bus to make the rich richer at anytime.
Note: I'm not shit talking anyone here nor calling anyone down. These are observations.
UPDATE
In an absolutely selfless act
I'm not sure if I even know the words to properly express the gratitude I feel at this moment. Thank you
Few people on this planet would put another in front of themselves,
Vote 
for Witness!
( Currently Holding Down Rank #21 )https://steemit.com/~witnesses
A Proud STEEMbassador of Canada