But another thing that I wanted to point out is, that I am just another Steemian, I'm not there because I'm getting paid some sort of shilling/upvotes or anything of the sort, or do I have some sort of prestigious position

The "Just another Steemian" comparison is rubbish. Your average Steemian does not even think about the economics of the platform. When you say things like this:

I'm trying my best to pull Steem out of the gutter with whatever ability I may have.

It tells me you are not just another Steemian, as you phrase it. I understand wanting to be humble, but you are one of the few I see on Steemit, making daily contributions to important topics. This raises the bar IMO, and I think you should give yourself a bit more credit.

I respect how you state the limitations of your abilities in helping with things such as coding, but implicitly state your willingness to help on a somewhat philosophical level, or integral level, however you want to say it, I totally get where you are coming from.

I'm going to make up a fitting quotation of how I see things.

"The greatest architect in the world cannot build you the house of your dreams, he can only construct the image in which he is given."

Am I saying that programmers aren't visionaries? Absolutely not, (I think they are), but they are the architects here, (so to speak), and by us sharing our visions with them, it will help guide them in constructing our "dream home". (I hope my analogy makes sense, it does to me anyways..)

Although you go about this in a way where you try to avoid friction or arguments, I think it is probably inevitable that you will encounter friction on some level. There is nothing wrong with debate, so long as the debating parties can debate with a level of respect, and commonality towards opposing fellow man/woman.

One thing is certain, if I want to get involved in discussions regarding the future of Steem, or the platform, I always know you are one of the people I can engage with, to me, this makes you an asset to the community, and not "Just another Steemian".

You rock bro!

Much love,
@futuremind