The people on Steemit don't seem to be acting abnormally at all. They act just like the people you meet in a bar or other public socializing space. Everyone is on their best behavior because they want to be accepted by the group. We all benefit from making the place more inviting to newcomers. It is a very good atmosphere.

I like to think of internet trolls as electronic vandals. Breaking windows and semi-anonymous attention-seeking are a negative way of seeking attention. Vandals assume that they will be rejected from the group, so they try to ruin the environment for everyone.

Steemit works like a functional liberal democracy. Everyone is generally cordial to strangers, eager to make friends, and tolerant of dissent. When negative behavior crops up it is dealt with inefficiently, but in a way that makes it clear that it is unacceptable and ultimately unprofitable.

Did you ever participate in a USENET group? It was the very first social media platform, 100% unmoderated, anonymous, and wide-open. Anyone could create a new group that was the only thing that kept things going. When one group devolved into spam, flame wars, and trolling, the group would pick up and move to a fresh group to start over again. The end result was a lot like Reddit without the corporate oversight.

Steemit seems to be demonstrating that it is possible to create a semi-anonymous public space where people will behave naturally. That is, they will behave like they do in face-to-face interactions with other humans.

I can honestly say, @Meno, that we enjoy your company and there is nothing fake about it.