Excellent reply!

"If I serialize a book which I have on Amazon...then what?"

Well, are you self voting, buying votes, or receiving automated votes on it? If you aren't doing those things, you're not eligible for the promotion feed, IMHO. There are obviously more complex repercussions of such a policy change that need to be discussed, and I am incompetent to think of all of them, or get them all right even when they're brought to my attention.

You clearly know that publishing on Amazon isn't publishing on Steemit, and that publishing elsewhere has, so far, on Steemit been simply considered something that should be completely supported.

As to propaganda, many people would agree with you regarding opinion posts being propaganda. However I am intending the word to be used in the sense of paid promotion, or suppression, of opinions.

There's gonna be some disagreement about what is or isn't propaganda, but I maintain that an individuals opinions aren't propaganda, unless they're paid to have them.

On Steemit, as we're paid to post (at least theoretically =p) this is a bit of a tricky question. Clearly we can't say 'he's only posting that because it's popular, and he'll get upvotes!' and call that, even it's true, propaganda.

@bloom receives regular payments from some outside source, and labels himself a 'professional flagger'. I submit there's a qualitative, discernible difference, that is actionable.

I'm open to discussion on the matter. I am even (warily) willing to drop it. Astroturfing, the kinds of psyops that are exposed in 'Weird Scenes from Laurel Canyon', by Dave McGowan, and such, are dangers wherever free speech exists.

Thanks for your incisive questions!