... I must not deny the rewards also, because that's what everyone is here for.
Call me an odd duck but the rewards were never my main attraction when first coming to the STEEM blockchain. The innovative technology is what attracted me.
Eight years ago a staked crypto was a new concept. It was exciting and had an air of innovation and democratization about it. Of course the fork took much of the wind out of those sails; however the community is what eventually brought me back after powering down and moving my STEEM/HIVE to ETH.
The 10x rise of ETH in those 4 years took much of the sting out of the deep disappointment of the fork in both an innovative as well as an emotional sense. Since beginning daily posting, more recently, rewards have become a greater motivation. Although my rewards are still somewhat of a trickle, it is a nice and easy crypto mining technique. Having a name and face on other wallets of the community is something that some crypto projects are just beginning to emulate.
Congratulations to you on your seven year journey on this fractured chain called HIVE. May you, and all of us, have seven years more! 😎👍