Ooh well I better comment while I can for free. 😝
Interesting concept. Being a minnow, I quite like the comments. But ai can see a point, if I received many comments, that I would only prefer the quality ones.
Kinda stumps the "freedom of speech" scenario.
Could it create a situation where only the rich can comment? Or "Elites" or "Cliques" control the dialogue, whereby, they suoport each other, to reduce the financial impact?
It adds to part of my thinking that Steemit will create further Guild dissection.
Another, skeptical part of my brain, also keeps an eye on any Pyramid Scheme type of platform.
Very interesting post yet again.
All of the scenarios described by you may unfold. That's why I'm interested in a debate first, to try to see as many "holes" in this construction as we can.
I think that if we make this optional, we will be able to track trends better. We may see which authors are "colluding" with other authors. It will probably segment the conversation leading to more vertical conversations (more root posts compared with comments).
And if it's optional, people can reverse back to it at any time.