I wrote an article all about the SMT's and how it doesn't care at all for steemit. I think they will be good for the currency and the blockchain, but not this platform or the community.

As for the vote bot debate... I think we either lead by example or do as the romans do. One will make you more money (and potentially destroy the platform and currency) the other is altruistic.

It is a prisoners dilemma. While you lead by example, you watch people make off like bandits. They could end up bleeding the system dry. There are no promises on which way this goes. It is a tough one.

Personally, I am moving towards not using bid bots and letting the chips fall where they do.