I've definitely been paying attention and have written about this issue in the past. Not all of them do, but certainly a lot.
I think a longer vesting schedule would do a lot to get whales thinking long term about the impact of their voting habits.
It's obviously unsustainable if the only reason people buy STEEM is so they can use it to upvote themselves for STEEM rewards...which they then sell to other people who are buying for the same reason.
How do you see Steem surviving long-term then, because let's face it... Steemit is so easily gamed, especially with the assistance of bots?
With things as they are I don't see it surviving long term. I'm trying to make stakeholders aware of the problems in hopes that they can be solved before it's too late, but even if not I think Steem has a lot of value (while it lasts) as a gateway to blockchains and cryptocurrency for more mainstream people who wouldn't be likely to jump into other chains directly.
I 100% agree, and it was pretty much my gateway as well. I think maybe they will start implementing some changes that may help the longevity of the platform as well, but I do believe the bots will eventually kill it completely.