Oh wow. I did not know about chainbb. I did not use them, but did a dpoll about them and people liked then. That's a shame. I had a similar trauma when we lost share2steem. This is why I use more than one and do not have all my eggs in one dApp basket.

There is no way to count on steemit. I know what you are saying about their usage and rep, but I have been gladly watching their numbers sink as other dApps rise. It is an embarrassment in every way.

Whenever I work with new people here, I steer them away to paying dApps as fast as I can. As soon as someone uses the other front ends, they also leave steemit the majority of the time in my experience.

This is a blockchain with many dApps. Someone has to use them if they are to succeed. The big guys don't need to use them. So the little fish are the ones that do. I'm glad to be in that group. But I definitely understand wanting to give up.