Between that and the incessant spamming of comment threads with links, it's getting taxing.

I agree with all the points you've made about the follow4follow/vote4vote which is taking over. Where is Emily Post when you need her on Steemit?

Up until recently I had never dropped a flag on anyone in the Steemit. Now, I find myself using it in my own comment thread when unsolicited advertisements and self-aggrandizing post promotion with zero relationship to my own content start spamming my thread.