Hey @logiczombie love YOUR post.

1. I wholeheartedly agree get rid of down votes.
2. A share of advertising revenue would be wonderful
3. Free speech is a must

and yes why the is the Steem payout linked to the price of SBD anyway when they have taken away payouts with SBD? Which they should never have done. I noticed at the time people were being out right dishonest with their statements.

And yes why is a post only eligible for rewards for 7 days! that was one of my first questions and complaints to @lukestokes two years ago.

The other huge issue is the top twenty witness selection process.
We just cant have people with thousands of accounts dictating who sets the rules any more.

From the actions of the most prominent and largest stake holders, I can only assume that their goal is for Steem not be successful. I feel certain that some have an unlimited budget (not personal money) and are deliberately setting this up to fail. I hope I am wrong about that but am unable to find any evidence to suggest otherwise.