Hey my friend, thank you for taking the time to lend your perspective.

However, society is composed of people, and people, as you note, are deranged to greater or lesser degrees. It's unrealistic to expect that derangement not to affect us here. It is however, entirely reasonable to expect Steem to enable us to better resolve the issues such derangement brings to the fore.

Yes, that is a very valid and pertinent point and it's one I very much agree with. I certainly didn't come here expecting (or indeed wanting) some form of nirvana where nobody argued or disagreed .. such discourse is expected and very healthy. I guess where I was naive was that I believed it would be a site where we could freely exchange ideas and debate our opposing perspectives within some form of level playing ground .. I didn't realise that the construct of the system benefitted the few as opposed to the many, and that the few (literally) heralded the power to ideologically destroy your account and all your work. I was naive and I have zero problems admitting that my errors were born out of idealism.

I won't say it's a misplaced idealism (although I think I was jumping the gun a bit) because as you also allude to, such technology (and indeed the premise behind it) is in its infancy .. as such this is all a learning curve and with the right will and skillset I very much believe that we can create a platform (whether its here or elsewhere) that mutually benefits us all. I guess I've just been waiting for this change/awakening to happen for so long, that I originally overlooked the shortcomings of the site. It's just frustrating because (despite all the horror stories and division) I have so much faith in humanity. Despite our oft skewed and manipulated perception of the world .. that there are so many more good people than bad, and that together we can achieve something incredible.

Equally, whatever direction the site takes, I have met some amazing people on here .. intelligent and compassionate individuals (such as yourself) that have renewed my faith in our ability to create a brighter/better and more balanced future. Although (in the wider world) it's looking pretty barren out there, and that in order to retain control the power structure is going to try every trick in the book and that for a time this will make life very difficult .. I also feel that the seeds of change have already been sown .. whether they will bloom in my lifetime, I don't know .. but what I do know is that I'm going to do my very best to water and nuture them. :) Thanks again @valued-customer