I'm saying that perhaps those who are actually dedicated full time or greater to one platform deserve the top slots and part-timers with competing interests for their time don't deserve top slots.

Understandable, and I agree - there's a lot of people who deserve a shot at the top positions. There are a lot of people here working on various projects that deserve more than they're getting.

I just don't think it's as black and white as "full time" vs "part time" though. It's about the value they create for everyone else, regardless of the time being spent. It's possible that someone working part time could contribute much more than someone else working full time. It's dependent on that persons skill set and experience, on top of how much time they spend.

Voting has to reflect this just as much as how much actual time is being spent. It could almost be broken down into a "salary vs hourly" debate.

IMO - the top witnesses list today isn't full of "full time" people contributing greatly at the moment. It could use some improvement. That's all completely subjective to my opinion on who deserves it the most.

To flip this on a more personal note: I have been fortunate enough to be able to do this full time for over a year now. Witnessing, staking, mining, trading, etc on all these various blockchains has allowed it to happen. If it weren't for all of this I wouldn't have had the opportunity to dive into this work like I have.

I'm incredibly appreciative of this and really would like to see more people have the opportunity I've had. If I can make that happen without endangering my own well being - I plan on it. I have seriously thought about stepping aside as a Steem witnesses to give someone else that chance, but if I did that today, it would wipe out a large portion of my income and put my financial stability at risk. I'm not wealthy and my rewards go to sustaining my livelihood and servers. I don't think today's the day to be taking that risk.

It could happen though and I'd be happy to do so, provided the situation worked out.

I'd also like to state that even if that were to happen, you wouldn't be getting rid of me lol. I would only be stepping aside as a witness (and it's rewards). I'd still be passionate about the same work I'm doing today, experimenting, and still building things that make Steem (and all other blockchains) a better place to be.