Thanks for sharing your view. I've definitely taken your stance on doing what I want and pushing through any noise. People usually make judgments because they have no clue what I'm doing, and then make assumptions based on whatever they've experienced in the past themselves. I'm pretty thick skinned, but every once in a while I get a dent in my armor.
Regarding the votes, it just boggles my mind to a painful degree how (insert word here) some of the larger accounts can be, unless they simply don't care about their behavior and just want to keep things comfortable for themselves. Earning short-term is more valuable than building the community up around them to support sustained organic growth. Unfortunately, a bunch of them together with voting power is far too much density to overcome. Instead of investing any money, I've just invested my time for community and entertainment. I've also used it to find motivation for what I do, and help inspire others to try to find more ways to help their local environments/be more resourceful.