We're also helping the @trendthis account get a post to trending with a big vote even though it means a huge penalty for our returns just because we know Steemit will look way better to outsiders with quality posts up there.

This is much appreciated. Even just boosting a post here and there makes a significant impact on the the appearance of trending. It's also been great to read the comments on these posts and how supportive the community has been to these authors and the concept as a whole.

I mentioned above and some accounts downvote the post due to disagreement of rewards or another unknown reason as it feels like a slap in the face and another disincentive to our already weak returns for having attempted to make trending look better.

He would downvote the sky for being blue if he could. It's a bit hypocritical considering the biggest downvoter for rewards disagreement on a substantive post is a master milker.