I agree with everything you've written here.  The "whitelist" is the worst idea I have heard in decades -- and if @minnowbooster intends to continue with it, they should at least rename themselves @dolphinbooster ... because there is nothing "minnow-boosting" about their service now.

AFAIC, the "old" @minnowbooster was one of the best features for helping minnows on Steemit ... and now they've gone and ruined it -- after weeks / months of changing their rules / conditions / terms of use almost daily.  Keeping up with that got to be a real grind ... and now minnows that don't have a spare $100 to throw at them are basically out in the cold.   

There are numerous ways the "visibility" problem for minnows could be addressed -- but developers don't seem much interested in that.  For a while (possibly a very short while) @minnowbooster was about the ONLY way open to newcomers here, helping them build their accounts and gain some traction.  I hope they reverse this "whitelist" decision -- although they don't seem to be in any rush to make that choice either.

I love @reggaemuffin and I don't know how much he had to do with this change in @minnowbooster's direction.  I'm hoping it was just not thought through well ... or that it was done behind his back somehow.  This is not the mindset of the person I thought he was.    I definitely think he deserves to be paid for the work he does.    Frankly, I don't think *anyone* should be required to "work for free,* especially the bloggers who put in lots of time and effort to create what they offer. 

Seeing 4 word comments rate $60+ dollars each from a 1 vote click (which I have seen with my own eyes) ... is vastly demoralizing.   So was the guy who for a little while would drop by my posts, bang out a 4 word comment, UV his comment for $.20+ ... but not upvote my post ... and move on to complete his round of 10 such actions a day.  Maybe even that got to be too much work for him.  He hasn't been by in a while.

I don't thnk flag wars are the answer either, but that's what we're left with.  You work with what you have.  Sadly, we don't have @minnowbooster on our side any longer ... so that's one less resource we can count on ... and quickly becoming one less reason to invest a lot of hope / time / energy / work in Steemit.

Just my 2c worth here this afternoon.    Thank you for saying it all @gyzimo