A Point of View for Consideration:

Steem is a Cryptocurrency

• Steem/SteemPower is an Asset
• It is bought and sold on our Internal Market as well as at Exchanges
• Anyone can buy it
• There are no moral obligations when you own it to build a "website"
• There is demand for renting, buying and bidding on Steem
• It might increase the value to Steem to build content site(s)

SteemIt is a platform used to distribute Steem

• One use for Steem is to hold Steem Power which gives you influence in the distribution of new Steem
• Holding SteemPower gives you the right to vote, sell, rent, lease that voting power
• Bidding Bots are just an Internal Market for selling voting power.
• It is up to the end-users of SteemIt to curate content
  • upvote
  • ignore
  • flag or downvote

I don't think you can build a mainstream website based on expecting people to conduct themselves in a certain way.  We can discuss it from now until the end of time, but buying votes is a viable business with a huge demand it will happen on or off "Chain".  If a product is for sale anyone has a right to buy it, not just those who are deemed worthy.

My Opinion

Trending Page: 

I LOVE the idea that anyone can invest in SBD or Steem and get their article visibility all the way to the trending page.  I don't think the trending page was ever about content and I find it more diverse and interesting now.  When I don't like something that makes it to the trending page I flag it and carry on with my activities.  The community can choose to flag you off the Trending page, but they can't stop you from getting there.  Isn't that Freedom?

Distribution:

Whether or not you like how the Steem is being distributed, it is getting to new and more hands. I think that is a win in the Mid to Long-Term.  By distribution I mean Steem is landing in the hands of more people, some in large amounts and some in smaller amounts.  (It has never been my goal to stop others from earning large sums.)  

• Investors may buy Steem just to use it for business reasons, like selling Voting Power
• The bots hold powered up Steem
• They are allowing others to gain Steem
• Some of that will be sold and some of that will be held and powered up

Voting Power is a Product

If something of value is for sale, why wouldn't I buy it?  If a Whale has some voting power they don't want to use today, and I am seeking more voting power, it seems reasonable for me to buy it.

Finally:

To sum it up, in my opinion SteemIt, Inc (fondly known as STINC) is working on building the blockchain, not managing SteemIt.  Some refer to SteemIt as a Firehose, a view I have decided to adopt.  I went through a disappointment period while I accepted this, but it is what it is.  Now we have others building other platforms on the Steem Blockchain which might be better managed and include better features, moderation, etc.

Personally, I am willing to let the experiment unfold and to continue to practice and understand the challenges of a decentralised economy and community.  I am not saying you should accept my point of view, but at least consider it.

See you on the Blockchain

@whatsup