If the witnesses really cared about posters, I think they would have set a minimum - in other words, if you cannot downvote someone who has earned less than 8Steem in a post, then it would indicate that they really are trying to protect the Steemit coin while wanting to support authors.

I have less than a 1,000SP. My account has existed for over 2 years and I have not drawn even one cent for myself. The money I have earned is about $180. That is what robbing the pool looks like?

And yet, I got a message from OCDC (or whatever they are called) warning me I must stop using bid bots or else I will get downvoted. They are supposed to curate authors...and I have posted nearly 2,500 pages of my story, plus short stories and poems. How many times have they upvoted me? I think maybe a couple of times about 2 years ago. Their warning has only served to make it obvious that they are downvoting because they see the bid bots as costing them curation fees, not because they are rying to protect the coin.

Luckily I do not care about the money, when I stop, or if I die, I have arranged it that a charity I like gets half and someone in Venezuela gets most of the balance. So...if they downvote me, they are not harming me, only my intended beneficiaries. Even knowing that, I bet it will not stop them doing what they can to protect their own income.