I've only recently met you mister Matt but I have a similar view.
I tend to give everyone the benefit of the doubt...which some might think naive.

But that is kinda how friends are made in real life. I've been burned.. sure.
But just being on steemit for the last two years has led me to things I never knew were possible.
I gave a "talk" at the first ever Hanoi Steemit meetup in Vietnam.

I interviewed curator extraordinaire @carlgnash
https://steemit.com/blog/@doctorcrypto/ep-1-of-4-curation-interview-with-a-top-curie-curator-carlgnash
I would have never thought of myself doing things like this a year earlier.

I feel like with the horrible markets, people lose interest....no money.
So now that the fair weathered steemians have dissipated, It may be easier to find the good ones before the price shoots up again. :)

Let's go grab a beer!