I have been seeing quite a few vet's of steenit posting about this issue. I have only been on steemit for about a month or so and I can see that doing what you have described is no way to go about doing this! I personally will never ask or beg for someone to up vote me in anyway, it is just ridiculous in my mind. I want to earn every follower I get, I will put in the work that is necessary to gain a strong follower-ship. I want people to follow me because they agree with, or at least respect my point of view. I want them to interact with me so that I can become better at creating content, I am doing this for them not me. Of course I get something out of it, and its not just money. I get life experience, and joy when I have impacted a persons life! I love the fact that so many vet's are posting about this issue, and I deeply respect all of your efforts to stem the tide of this spam disaster! Thank You!