I agree that it is now one of the cultures of Steemit. However, I would argue it is not a sustainable one.
It is rent-seeking behavior that ultimately devalues steem and requires new investors to enter the system for it to be sustainable. Fortunately, we are still in a space where new people are entering the crypto and Steemit ecosystems all the time, but may not always be the case if their is less and less quality on the platform. It'll become the first decentralized blogging platform for bots: Bots will post the content, they will upvote the content, and the ponzi scheme will fall down.
For a sustained value, Steemit needs to make sure its supporting quality content and earnest connections between people.
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