But if Steem decided to ban this by definition, started removing or blocking posts like that, or having official committees deciding what goes and what doesn't, I would be very alarmed.
So would I. If Steem ever acquires a committee able to block posts, I'll be gone. My post was only meant to counteract @jonnybitcoin's post and raise the issue of a clear conflict of interest taking place.
Also, I wanted to prevent this perception from spreading:
Steem is used by BitShares shareholders to acquire new investors and then use their capital to salvage their own failed BitShares investment.
It's completely untrue (and I don't think BitShares is a failed investment) but we need to be aware that perception is not a rational beast - it just needs one small incident to be able to flourish.
Yeah I get you :) As long it's just an opinion like any other, its all good. Like you said, perception is hardly rational, everyone has their own version of it, so there's little else one can do except campaign for the outcomes they're after. Even if they seem to be talking rubbish in the process (which I'm not trying to judge in this case).