I'd also like to add that, me not voting for witnesses specifically, has something to do with them not interacting/observing their followers. I don't know why I have this feeling, but if witnesses are sort of like a small town community leaders, then I expect them to communicate/support back those who support them. The one's I've voted for - we had some form of interaction in the past - and i appreciate that, I can see they care beyond just running their little servers. Just because you're a witness doesn't mean you can post around here with your nose high up to the ceiling ignoring your supporters...Meh, whatever.
And that is completely understandable, especially if the said Witness has a large following. Of the ones I follow, @sircork, has been extremely good about interacting. Just last night, he told me about his off-grid days and how he lived through it.
If my Facebook experience serves as any indicator, I estimate that it is possible to interact with people in meaningful ways when the number is under 1500. Once you go much higher than that, you simply don't have enough time in the day to keep up with people unless you are online full-time.
As a community leader, I know that there is a point when it becomes nearly impossible to respond to all your voters/followers. Take @lukestokes for example; having over 5k supporters would mean it is not feasible to know them all on a personal level. Of course, that would also mean that you are a politician now.
Then again, communication runs both ways. Sometimes, you just have to find the venue that will reach the person you are trying to pin down their attention. Some of them can only be reached via DM (Discord, Steem.chat, etc.). Some of them on the airwaves. And then, there are some who would only comment.
But, I totally get what you are saying about being seemingly ignored.
@enforcer48
That's a very good point, can't blame them. I know that over 50% of my followers are either dead accounts or bots, so I assume the same goes for witnesses. Plus, there are only a handful of people that comment at a time, so those number won't really matter much...I'm pretty sure they can keep up and the ones I've chatted with are pretty much online 24/7. But anyways, I should sit down one day and vote on witnesses one by one. Up to 30 right?
Yup. Up to 30.
https://steemian.info/witnesses will show you a list of them, which include those outside of top 50.
Or, if you trust someone else enough, you could always use a proxy to vote for them.