Alyssa, I don't disagree that the value of the posts showing on here is an issue in terms of discouraging people, but if they join for the no-monetary benefits, they are more likely to stick around when they see their posts making nothing. If they joined for the monetary benefits only, and then make nothing, we lose them for sure.
In terms of the price falling, it is fairly stable. I do see it is dipping again:
http://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/steem/#charts
Interesting to see my screenshot was just prior to the most recent dip. This actually just proves my point that currency speculation is not a safe way to grow the platform. People need to have a reason to hold SP beyond speculation or else if the price dips to much they will just sell. It may take 2 years to pull out, but that just means it takes longer to crash, which is no good.