Just to be clear, I'm not an insider, and I have no input into Steemit's decision-making. I was just passing along the remark since it was relevant to our conversation.

That said, I get your point. I always figured that the TRX rewards had to run out eventually, so it doesn't bother me that they're paused (or probably, "terminated", is my guess). But... it would definitely have been better to announce the pause before implementing it and to take down the various indicators on the web site that are still suggesting that TRX rewards will be paid, even today (i.e. the TRX integration announcement, the TRX payout listed when you mouseover the price, and the TRX amounts in the "claim rewards" space of the wallet.)

This kind of thinking makes me question the future of this platform.

I think the platform is going to be fine, but we need to look for growth from the rest of the ecosystem, too. In the past, I have worried more about the absence of leadership outside of Steemit than about Steemit's decisions that I might, or might not, agree with (and might or might not fully understand). Fortunately, I think that other leadership has slowly been emerging in the last year or two. Being patient is hard, but I still think things are trending in the right direction.