RE: Where has the steemspirit gone? Pressing the 'reset button'.
Differences of opinion are inevitable, and indeed were considered an unavoidable development as the Steemit project grew. One of the things that attracted me to Steemit was the careful consideration given to how to deal with its development in the Steemit White Paper.
The Steemit White Paper outlines the fact that abusive behaviour would develop as the community grew. The solution proposed is the combination of the financial reward system, and the astuteness of curators to detect deliberately conflicting or trolling behaviour. Put simply, postings that are without merit do not get rewarded. The poster can only face the realisation that he or she is losing money through such behaviour. Punishment for trolling is achieved by the absence of a reward, not by the infliction of a penalty.
Constructive arguing, however, can be illuminating. There may never be agreement, but there can be openness. It is always helpful to understand the other person's point of view, even if you think it holds less merit than your own.
It is early days for Steemit, and the rise of disagreement was foreseen. Hopefully the design built into the Steemit reward structure will help deal with it in a constructive manner.
Thank you for your detailed reply @coldmonkey! I am totally with you regarding the rewards and a huge fan of constructive discussions. The only thing I disagree with is the way people are talking to each other lately. It's becoming very rude, very aggressive and unobjective. I rather missed the openness you mentioned, and it would be great to get it back in 2017!
Wish you some enjoyable last days of 2016 ;) Peace