### Doesn't Mean We're Wrong
To all of those here on Steemit who feel the need to talk down to anyone who wishes they could see some reward for their efforts, listen up. You've all been dealing out quite a bit of advice to us newbies. Well, I've got some for you.

Stop it, please.

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![steemit-head-580x326.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmayYeUxkVanDRD9xE89bgjEaBnD6FeW1nWReXQWxm2LbG/steemit-head-580x326.jpg)
<sub>[Image source](http://cryptomining-blog.com/tag/steemit-review/)</sub>
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There's really no reason to be condescending or holier-than-thou. Instead of throwing out the company line, "Hard work, consistency, quality and original content will eventually be rewarded," why not remember what your journey on Steemit has been like and try a little sympathy? Sure, none of us newbies endured the four-post ban and non-linear payout curve—or whatever else brought you grief—but that doesn't fix the facts that the reward system is fundamentally flawed or that there's a huge visibility problem.

Telling someone, "Well, how are you going to account for Sybil attacks?" when most people don't even know what that is, then treat them like total imbeciles and direct them to read up on that and other issues when it takes hours to even find anything around here is not a trial of user worthiness, faith, determination or whatever else the heck you think it is. It's rude, it's ugly and it's unnecessary.

Instead, how about you explain yourself, slowly, calmly, using a major language, not programmerian or geekspeak. Act like a real person and engage like you keep telling us to do.

There's a massive amount of untapped potential in Steemit, but it's not in the 01s or in the bootstrapping of a digital currency or even in the attention economy. The greatest amount of untapped potential lies in the sum total experience of every account holder currently on, or who will eventually join, the STEEM ecosystem.

Even so, it's not going to be just you that makes this nearly two-year-old beta Reddit wannabe the "Best. Social. Media. Platform. Ever." If that happens, it will be because of all of us doing the grunt work and promotion.

Please stop telling us why things won't work. Tell us how they can, and let us noodle on them. It's obvious things aren't working right, so telling us that the status quo is meant to prevent the status quo from happening is condescending. If what's in place isn't preventing what it's supposed to, then it doesn't matter what else won't prevent it.

I spent 15 years as a small business owner squeezing out every drop of potential profits or savings I could. That meant streamlining processes, being lean and mean, and yes, sometimes, it meant workarounds. Workarounds, however, weren't meant to be the way things were done. They were temporary, until the equipment was fixed, the Internet connection worked, a new person was hired, or what have you. Very rarely did they ever become a permanent fixture. When they did, it was because there wasn't a better alternative.

Bid bots, delegation, self-upvotes, etc., are workarounds. If they do anything, they mask the issues of a failed reward system and woeful lack of visibility. They do more harm than good by creating a victim class or a culture of reward pool abuse for those who make them, promote them and regularly use them.

How about this: Don't think of me and my Steemit newbie peers as idiots or whiners (though some of us are bound to be) when all we want is some consistency in compensation for our work—another company line—and I promise I will stop thinking of you all as a narcissistic man-boy still living in your mother's basement while you do your Steemit warrior impersonation in your Star Wars pajamas.

Deal? :)