The bidbot dilemma (Part 2)

This is a follow-up post to @yawnguy2/the-bidbot-dilemma. In brief:

• My @yawnguy and @yawnguy2 posts get curated by others when bidbot-promoted
• These bidbot-promoted posts occupy "trending" slots, independent of quality
• Very few humans actually read or comment on my niche posts (I'm not whining about this)
• I'm 68 years old, not interested in fame or making money from Steemit
• I am interested in getting my @yawnguy stuff used (it's free)
• I wanted to get a rep of 60+

Here are my @yawnguy2 author returns in Steem, along with Rep changes:

@yawnguy2/rubik-tips-for-bigger-odd-numbered-cubes Paid 120, Return 120 (Rep 65.895 --> 66.076)
@yawnguy2/cosmic-dumptruck-the-caretakers Paid 120, Return 134 (Rep 65.690 --> 65.895)
@yawnguy2/rubik-willingness-to-scramble Paid 120, Return 144 (Rep 65.445 --> 65.690)
@yawnguy2/rubik-how-to-solve-the-tartan-cube Paid 120, Return 140 (Rep 65.224 --> 65.445)
@yawnguy2/rubik-how-to-solve-the-shepherd-cube Paid 120, Return 140 (Rep 65.0 --> 65.224)
@yawnguy2/the-ballad-of-feisty-j Paid 120, Return 120 (Rep 64.8 --> 65.0)
@yawnguy2/vagrants Paid 120, Return 146 (Rep 64.5 --> 64.8)
@yawnguy2/under-the-rim-verses-161-to-184 Paid 120, Return 143 (Rep 64.1 --> 64.5)
@yawnguy2/under-the-rim-verses-141-to-160 Paid 120, Return 141 (Rep 63.8 --> 64.1)
@yawnguy2/under-the-rim-verses-121-to-140 Paid 120, Return 142 (Rep 63.4 --> 63.8)
@yawnguy2/under-the-rim-verses-101-to-120 Paid 120, Return 114 (Rep 63.0 --> 63.4)
@yawnguy2/under-the-rim-verses-81-to-100 Paid 120, Return 129 (Rep 62.6 --> 63.0)
@yawnguy2/under-the-rim-verses-41-to-60 Paid 120, Return 119 (Rep 62.2 --> 62.6)
@yawnguy2/under-the-rim-verses-61-to-80 Paid 120, Return 116 (Rep 61.6 --> 62.2)
@yawnguy2/under-the-rim-verses-21-to-40 Paid 120, Return 128 (Rep 60.9 --> 61.6)
@yawnguy2/under-the-rim-verses-1-to-20 Paid 120, Return 128 (Rep 60.2 --> 60.9)
@yawnguy2/the-bidbot-dilemma-part-2 Paid 120, Return 128 (Rep 59.2 --> 60.2)
@yawnguy2/ramesses-ii-silver-coin Paid 120, Return 136 (Rep 57.8 --> 59.2)
@yawnguy2/nice-display-case Paid 120, Return 127 (Rep 55.9 --> 57.8)
@yawnguy2/rectilinear-poetry Paid 120, Return 109 (Rep 52.9 --> 55.9)
@yawnguy2/breakfast Paid 40, Return 49 (Rep 49 --> 52)
@yawnguy2/the-bidbot-dilemma Paid 40, Return 39 (Rep 25 --> 49)
Totals: Paid 2360, Return 2572

I paid 60SBD to a bidbot for each of my last 6 @yawnguy posts, with Rep boosts of 60.4 --> 61.0 --> 61.6 --> 62.1 --> 62.6 --> 63.0 --> 63.3

These figures show nothing surprising, namely that bidbots can boost one's rep at pretty much zero cost although the money gets tied up for up to 3 months.

Is this ethical? As a relative newcomer, I find this hard to say. It doesn't seem like "gaming the system" as it is done openly, and anyone with a few hundred Steem they can use temporarily can do it. In addition, most of the trending articles seem to have been artificially boosted by bidbots anyway. It seems non-ideal, but better minds than mine must know of the problem.

Image: Pixabay