Voting Bots vs. Organic Engagement

Hi guys,

I'm new to @steemit and I'm starting to see this issue of voting bots pop up everywhere.

I realize that the voting bots are here and they're here to stay unless @steemit decides to ban them (which I doubt or I'm not even sure whether it's possible, I'm not a programmer...). I haven't used any and I'm not sure whether I will - unless I see a good reason to.

But how do bots actually help you create REAL ENGAGEMENT? Or how is the quality of your content reflected by their votes? If people genuinely like what you put out, they'll engage with you, and the engagement will grow organically. So the bots will just up your posts somewhat, but the rest is up to you. And if everyone uses the bots, then the bots will just create something like a 'base layer' on which we're all building, and the quality posts will win anyway. So why are we doing it? Please explain it to me like I'm a 3 year old :)

And then there's the infamous @grumpycat :) - I do like that he/she/it is trying to keep the steemit space free of bots that upvote for more than 3.5 days in a row. But who is this person and what gives them the unilateral power to make this decision?

Are we not in a 'decentralized' world here? Apparently not. In fact, every system has its problems, and as much as I love what blockchain is bringing us, it's not all rosey and without leaks...

Would love to hear your opinion. Thanks!