But then again, people like the dopamine hit from these comments.
I don't. I like the dopamine hit from publishing my rambling content and then having further conversations about it. Having discourse and discussing what ifs, and whys and whats and whos and wheres.
Stuff about sell pressure
If there's the same amount of HIVE, going to less people, I think we could reasonably forecast that the patterns of behavior would likely mirror our existing userbase. Some would HODL for ever, some would be 100% liquid, others would be a bit of a mix, and people like me would sell some, then buy stuff that helps them recontribute to hive.
I put a significant amount of HIVE toward to my dream camera lens for example, and I will be pretty much posting every shoot I ever do with that lens on HIVE! (excepting events like weddings / functions where I don't hold explicit reproduction rights to the images!).
I like to hold strongly onto the delusion that people will engage themselves with something that they are passionate about whether there is an incentive or not.
Twitch moderators for people who are making lots of money are often volunteers. People willfully spout their knowledge about various topics on Reddit.
There's oodles of facebook groups where people discuss very specific and incredibly detailed things in exhausting technical detail. They all do this for free. They get the reward of engagement with their fellow humans (or in the case of those who have failed the Turing Test) - the AI and bots of the Dead Internet Theory, and all they get is served ads every 4th post (sometimes more) for the pleasure.