I do not use bidbots to promote posts anymore. But you were right to downvote my second use of bidbots on the second comment. I have violated my own rules by "promoting" comments and not supporting the community. That stops today!!

Before bidbots came along I used to tip people who voted on my comments with a little STEEM. When the number of voters started reaching 100 and over, I stopped because it took too long. So I simply upvoted the post 100% after everyone else had voted, thus adding to the curation rewards pool. When bidbots came along, I saw the advantage of promoting and rewarding curators (at the time it was 75/25 split) but still the mathematical rules of curation rewarded early curators a bit more.

Now that bidbots is passe on SteemIT, I use small amounts of STEEM less than 5 STEEM to vote on posts after the majority of the votes have been made. Again, this is much easier than tipping 200 of more accounts with a small amount of STEEM as a way to thank them for there time and upvote.

I agree with the #newsteem policy of shunning bidbots as a way of promoting posts. This is why I have ceased using large amounts of STEEM on bidbots.

When my voting power is low and I find a post I like, I also use a small amount of STEEM (~1 STEEM) on a bidbot to upvote the post. Again, this rewards the authors and those who upvoted the post according to the mathematical rewards system. The mathematical rewards system is a fair way of distributing rewards to curators.

And finally, I like to encourage users to comment on posts. This is why I upvote every (non-bot) comment on my posts. And yes, your comment will get my upvote. Since my upvote typically does not raise the value to greater than $0.02 on the comment, I use on the order of 0.1 to 0.25 STEEM to pay a bidbot to upvote the comment too. Getting the value to over $0.02 ensures that the author of the comment gets a reward.

I like the #newsteem algorithm of splitting rewards 50/50 between authors and curators because I feel that more of my tip and vote goes to those who support my posts.

Today I will institute a new rule/policy for myself.

• I will no longer upvote a self-made comment that does not get any other votes. If there is only one vote on my self-made comment, then I will reward that voter with a direct transfer of a small amount of STEEM.
• I will continue to encourage interaction with authors on SteemIt. I will continue to upvote replies to my posts and use a small amount of STEEM to increase the value to greater than $0.02 to ensure they get a reward for their reply.
• I will NOT use more than 5 STEEM to pay bidbots on any post/comment. If I feel an author deserves more then I will do a direct transfer to their account.

I believe in supporting those who support me and those who hold me accountable. This is why I thank you for your comments. I am a true advocate for free speech and please to do not hesitate to reply to me and hold me accountable in the future. Also, thank you for your efforts to police the community.

I have an altruistic nature and will continue to look for ways to help and encourage others. I know how SteemIt can have life-changing effects on people around the world. The success of SteemIt and the STEEM blockchain helps everyone in the SteemIt community.

Have a great week!
Steem on,
Mike