Hi @meanbees,

Thank you for your kind comment .. Actually it (the 7 days window) was my thought exactly in the beginning but as time passes then you understand it is totally understandable. (Imagine an infinite reward pool!)

When I search for something steemit related, I often discover articles of 1-2 years old and authors I did not know before.

Regarding your question for 'tipping' or 'paying upvote' there are many options that you can use (not for me but if you wish to say thanks to someone)

I will be mentioning, as they are not clear (especially to newest users)

1. You can send / transfer to someone even a small amount of 0.01 Steem and include a memo with your message
2. You can upvote a recent post of theirs and comment on it if you would like to explain the 'why'

Again thanks for visiting, and you may find something you would like to know at a collection of useful links I created a few weeks back!