wow you changed your tune from the last time I stumbled upon you :D
I still have some faith in Steem cos some of the devs are working to turn it into a fairer system. hopefully a system where whales have less influence on the voting than they have now.
it's only beta so there are a lot of things that need improving, especially when it comes to user experience. I would have kept Steemit invitation only till most issues were addressed. I agrree that many of those now signing up may be put off and leave frustrated cos they may perceive the system as rigged (steemed's so called "List" doesn't help that's for sure).
I'll stick with Steem at least till a real alternative comes along and hoping to see improvements.