I have to agree that the curation split is a little disappointing. I guess it is to encourage more engagement, but there has to be a better way to do it. With steem as slow as it is right now and the free flags, these changes will only make it slow down more and more will probably leave the platform. I know personally, I have not felt like the indepth posts are worth the effort for the little gains we get out of them. Hopefully, something changes soon.