I know many people see self-voting on comments as a bad thing. I'm not sure though, it has its purposes, like the one you mention. It also helps bringing your own, thoughtful post up to the top, so you don't get overshadowed by comment spammers and such. But then, it would all depend on the amount of SP you have how well you're being seen by others, which can also be seen as unfair. It is a difficult subject!
Edit: I think the most important thing is, if you upvote your own comment on someone's post, you should atleast upvote the original post aswell.
I agree that upvoting the original post is key and frankly proper etiquette since you are using their space to gain more visibility and have your voice heard about the post subject. I am just trying to do what is both beneficial for the community and me so its more of a win/win. I think the main thing is to do what works and keeps you going on Steemit. Once the community feature gets implemented in steemit I think we will see tons of groups trying different ideas depending on how that group wants to do things. I think we can all exist together as long as everyone is looking out for the community as well as themselves.
I agree. I really am curious about how communities will work, very exciting!