When I joined it was by finding some random stuff talking about earning money on bitcointalk.org. I didn't read the whitepaper or read any details at all. I joined steemit.com and started posting. Within a month or so I think I started renting out SP because I saw advertisements for it on other people's posts/comments on posts advertising it.
I would say that probably the super majority of users on Steem and Hive currently still don't know the rewards pool is shared, OR THAT THERE IS A REWARDS POOL. I didn't even know there was a Rewards Pool, let alone it was shared. I have been in crypto since 2013 and my background is Computer Science and Information Systems, but it doesn't help if I don't read EVERYTHING about Steem/Hive lol.
Why I asked is because I believe that the gateway people come in from and their early interaction often dictates their behavior on chain. Some learn better ways, some digress depending on the company they keep.
I reckon most people (at least those actually interested) know a fair bit about the reward structure, as based on their behavior, they target it the best they can to maximize. For me, I know enough about it that I realized that the best way to earn is to be part of the community, not a path of maximization and a lack of interaction.
There are lots of ways to approach Hive, some are more valuable than others.