Fair enough.
The base layer of Steem blockchain is the social layer.
For a social layer to be used they need people.
Two things attract people: Money and Marketing.
A aggressive separation from Justin Sun/Tron means that all the blockchain will lose all the financial support (since Steemit inc. was the financial support) and therefore, drastically reduce the reach of Steem.
While we can all dream about a ideal place where things would be fine, that is not how the real world works.
Was Steemit INC a source of financial support, or a drain on the price?
Dumping 800,000 STEEM on the market each month to pay themselves didn't feel much like 'support' at the time.
If anything, the chain was supporting the business. Admittedly, the business was coding improvements; so you could make the argument that upgrades to the chain would grind to a halt in their absence (SMT code is ready to ship, afaik); but I have absolute confidence that the chain would be fine, maybe even better off, with that ninja-mined stake off the field.
Steemit Inc has only been a burden, still is and just fattening them pockets, the one main thing that has kept this platform going is Splinterlands and SE, Keychain etc. That is all facts....... If it wasn't for that progress I would've been gone for one.....
Same here. I lost interest in Steem almost immediately and checked in occasionally, but never did anything on it until Splinterlands came along so tbh I imagine I'll follow wherever it goes. I'd like to see Steem do great but my main stake is in Splinterlands assets now and I wouldn't be surprised if that's true for many others.