Why I Am Leaving Steemit

Reason #1: The managers of Steemit can't seem to make up their mind about what Steemit is.

Is it a social media platform like it claims, or a money-driven writing competition?

When I first sign up at Steemit, I really thought I've finally found a way to break free from the censorship of Facebook, a place where true freedom of speech exist. In Steemit's FAQ, it says: "Steemit users can upload anything they want, whether it be phrases, quotes, anecdotes, photos, videos, memes, songs..." https://steemit.com/faq.html

Then one day, you get a warning message from "steemcleaners," accusing you of violating a set of rules that you haven't seen before when you sign up. Not only that, these "official rules" aren't very specific either; e.g. exactly how much of my "own original thoughts and ideas " is required in each post? 100 words? 1,000 words?

Reason #2: Whenever you post something on Steemit, people would assume you are doing it for money, and judge you accordingly.

First of all, when you post on Steemit you are NOT guaranteed to get any money in return! Even if lots of people upvoted you, you might still get absolutely nothing. Since vast majority of Steemit members won't make any meaningful amount of money, it is very insulting and cynical to think that they are only posting for financial gains! (Ironically, the "steemcleaners", who never post any original/valuable content, is consistently making money.)

Furthermore, has it ever occur to you that some people just want to share valuable contents regardless of who created them? Like how members share things on other the social media sites? Of course I'm not referring to the ones who specifically claim others' work as their own. I just hope you would acknowledge the fact that some righteous people are NOT posting for money, instead, they simply want to share contents that might be helpful or entertaining to others! If you treat these individuals like criminals, you shouldn't call yourself a "social media platform."

Reason #3: A few individuals have overwhelming power over other members on Steemit.

Any wealthy person can easily purchase lots of Steem Power and rule over everyone else. How is that going to transform Steemit down the road? A big pharmaceutical corporation can easily censor or discourage an average person who's trying to expose the ugly truth within the medical industry. A major political party can financially reward its supporters and ruin its opponents. In a way, these immoral billionaires can control the content of Steemit more easily than other social media sites!

Goodbye Steemit. I won't be logging on to this account again. To all the readers of my posts, thank you for your time and support. I wish you all the best and I hope you'll continue to stand up for the truths and justice.