Some excellent points here. I personally don't like bid bots but I can't argue that they don't work, as you stated, like many other services on other platforms.

I think they have a right to exist, but with the current UI I can understand why many are angry at their existence. In general, I think the Steemit UI could solve a few big issues with some changes. The Promoted category exists for a reason, but there's no reason to promote a post.

The encouragement of curation is atrocious, though. It's a fundamental part of the network and you rarely hear of its importance.