Hi.  My name is.. well... nevermind.  Someone took all the names.  

I've been here *forever*.  25600SP.  Earned it, **organically.**  The honest way.  

I work hard, then I crash and burn.  I just got back to this place after a five month hiatus.  People missed me, apparently.  I don't know.  They must be crazy.  

![Screenshot (552).png](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmTfUfFR1NZ174A8uXJ836qeT4KYTJSTvieUPcyf2Vid2D/Screenshot%20(552).png)

That's what I get for coming back.  These people are awesome, I like it here.  I managed to pull that off without buying a vote, as per usual.  It's not unusual for my posts to have more engagement than the majority here.  I'm not rubbing it in, just saying, "That's what happens here, for me, sometimes."

I want the view counter back.  That's my only request.  Back when we had the view counter, my posts would receive hundreds of views within the first day, sometimes.  I'd have more views, organically, than some of these wannabe trending page bloggers, and of course far more genuine interaction.  Real people, saying real people things.  I'd publish my work, enjoy whatever came my way, then push my work to the outside world by dropping links in key locations.  Because I focus on entertainment, people looked, and over time, I'd see that view count rise.  Many month old posts seeing sometimes 20 more views in a day and I had no idea where they were coming from, but those links of mine were drawing outside eyes to this place.  

Now I don't even bother.  I have no way of knowing if going the extra mile is even worth it.  Swinging at curveballs in the dark.  

So what if people are paid to look away and that's mainly why there's nobody left to actually view and vote.  I still want to know how much action my posts are getting.  It's important, to me, and I'm not alone, but that's my story.  If someone gets duped into purchasing votes so they sit at the top of the trending page with their whopping 7 comments or whatever, them seeing what they're actually paying for would be a fine wake up call as well.  You want to see the quality improve around here?  How about lets take an honest approach?  If someone spends money to be internet famous for a day, you damn right they'll improve once they see how much a fail their crap wannabe trending post was.

Now, pardon my *tone*, or whatever.  I've been away for awhile and I *kinda* walked into yet another political shit show of a mess, when I was silently hoping things got better while I was away... so I think being a tad bit frustrated with a few things today is excusable.  I'll try to be a nice guy, and if you can put that view counter back, maybe I'll even smile.  Deal? ;)