Actifit allows you to add some personal information,details and photos. Most people do add a little effort and at least a few sentences describing their health or workout and even a nice photo.
However, if you just click enter daily without adding anything, I would consider that spam.
Technically taking steps or exercise is effort, but to say it is proof of brain or somehow adds value to steem deserving rewards is difficult.
There may however really be some people who only want to see how many steps some random dude took on a daily basis.
I think one of the problems with steem is you can't have specific followers, for example posting that to actifit friends only or posting drugwars fights to drugwars friends only.
Generally, any post with less than 100 new words I consider spam, Maybe 50 with a picture. I'm pretty strict and generally won't follow people if they post more than twice a day including resteems.
Now before you think I am mad I just unfollow, I don't downvote unless they are bidding it or begging for votes. Technically it isnt impolite to downvote people asking for votes.
Contest spam asks for upvotes or resteems or follows to win prizes and it is extremely common, but technically flaggable
I remember about a year ago it was common for people to do posts like camera fund #23 please upvote so I can buy canera, here is a picture of my sandwich.
Posted using Partiko Android
All fair points.
It's interesting that I was close to onboarding an artist friend of mine. She is very talented and I think her work would do well on Steemit. She was on the verge of saying yes and asked me to show her what it was about. I left her with my phone for 20 minutes and eventually she handed it back to me saying 'it's full of crap!!' She isn't wrong but it was disappointing, nonetheless.
I guess the downvote system is a move towards cleaning it up and I will watch with interest to see how it goes.
So many people have been hesitant to flag or downvote because they either think it is stealing or they are worried about retribution. I also hear people say don't downvote because you disagree. Well, I only downvote abuse, If someone starts posting about politics, conspiracy, religion or NSFW, I just comment or don't read it. I think a lot of people misunderstand the system.
A large problem on Steem is the trending pages are junk, it's just whoever gets the most upvotes. Take art for example, if I draw a picture and bid it up I'll get trending and I'm hardly a quality artist, I can just afford the 1 or 2 Steem I may lose throwing a 100 Steem bid on something.
Retribution has crossed my mind, to be fair.
I'm all for freedom of speech. People should be allowed an opinion. The line is drawn at personal abuse/attacks. The football forum that I frequent has a saying/rule: Attack the post not the poster! I think it's a reasonable rule.
To often these days people get branded a.....(insert here- ist) for stating observations and opinions and it pisses me off. If the same keyboard warriors get the chance to mess someone up that they disagree with or are 'offended' by then we are all going to suffer.
Like you have said though, there are lots of reasons why people could use the downvote but only a few are valid.