You are speaking my mind all along in your post - except I have not used the upvote bots - I just so not see any sence in them. Why should I do something here on Steemit that I - from the very, very bottom of my heard - would not do in the real world... I find myself drawn back and forth between staying here or moving out... Made a deal with myself to stay here until end of this year and to keep up my posts and to see what happens along the way... just some days ago I got upvoted from the OCD project and it felt like YAY, I am not the only one wondering about the buying upvotes - @OCD is an outstanding project here on steemit and I hope there will be more of this kind! I am trying to involve myself in the positive aspects here - like #popcontest, #hobbyhub or #freewrite... Cheers from the Seven Mountains in Germany