Thank you for this post, Dana. I have so much to learn here. I'm a senior, and I feel a bit out of my element, but still I find this to be such an interesting platform. I've been a writer and blogger for years, and I might actually work on a piece for a week, only to put it up and get three or four upvotes... which was a bit distressing until I decided to not sweat it and just go ahead and take an interest in other people's work. I didn't know the situation about upvoting yourself. Sometimes I do it and sometimes not - don't want to work against myself. Anyway, thanks for your thoughts on it. I do see those posts with a few stolen photos and a sentence or two and wonder... obviously not much thought or energy has gone into it, and to those folks Steemit is just a hustle. I figure if this evolves naturally, the cream will rise to the top. Let's hope so. Momz