Agree 100% with you! There is a reason why I curate very single day and give Curie followed votes to users and try and engage with some to more of them. To keep them onboard, and to guide them as much as I can.
But exactly this what you are stating is what I've seen last three to four years over and over again, but nothing really changes. Still the UI people didn't adjust their UI's giving rewards a less prominent spot. We still have the exponential curation curve etc etc. That all doesnt help to give HIVE a boost.
That said, I'm still continuing my activities at HIVE since I still have the believe it can go places we can only dream of at this point in time :)
I don't have much influence on the technology of Hive, so I work with what we have.
very much appreciated :)