@dollarsandsense, I didn't actually think Steemit had much of a chance of making it, when I joined here some 18 months ago. I even expressed some of that skepticism in my intro post... with a "I'll believe it when I see it" attitude.

I've been repeatedly impressed by the resilience of this place, and the way things keep self-adjusting. Spammers come in, and the community rallies and beats them down. I remember a big time scamster tried to come here and set up shop with all his shills... and was summarily flagged into oblivion; that was about a year ago.

As long as the "real user" percentage stays high enough, I think people will act to protect their interests; even if it means the effort of thousands to counterbalance unwelcome forces.

Not that I — by any means — believe Steemit is "out of the woods" yet...