Thank you for sharing about this @pandorasbox because it helps us to look consciously at the points you shared and review them to ensure we are going forward with the best in mind. Setting an author on auto upvote requires a lot of trust and I feel a big responsibility to deliver because just one post that is awful is enough to lose a lot of support. I like being able to offer my upvote to an author not just based on my judgement but on them making the effort even if I do not agree or like the post. What I love about Steemit is that it makes transparent what is often hidden around us. For example, if it was obvious to everyone how much politics and media are a circle jerk most people would stop participating completely and/or make a more educated decision on what to support!