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no, not really - if i don't do it then the posts have artificial competition that i need to somehow overcome.

You don't need to do it, you choose to do it. Earn the votes from time to gain an audience and get visibility, or buy them. Pretty clear how it works.

I do choose to do it, yes - I don't NEED to use Steemit or do a lot of things. I am saying that if I don't do it then my posts get less exposure due to the way that steemit's UI is currently designed. I spent 6 months making posts that got pennies and almost no upvotes. Since using techniques such as using randowhale to gain a boost, the same posts (reposted) get decent organic levels of engagement and upvotes. I am fairly sure that a high percentage of top paying posts are only at the top of the lists due to the high SP of the poster and/or the use of bot networks etc.
In short, steemit is not a level playing field and so it is that attempting to be 'morally upright' by not using randowhale is only going to result in less followers, upvotes and engagement for me. If someone comes up with good ideas to achieve the same without using services like randowhale, then I'll use them. I continue to research and think on the subject.