You bring up good points, and ones I've been wondering, too. I've looked to see if someone actually looked into this and posted their results, but so far, I haven't found anything. I need to learn more about how to query the blockchain for more than just account names I already know.

At any rate, if it's annoying clutter but unprofitable for the spammers, then while it makes Steemit look bad and potentially less attractive perhaps, the rewardpool is relatively unabused. If it is taking a significant toll, then there needs to be an efficient way to combat it. Flagging, education, what have you.

Kind of sounds cavalier and all about the money, doesn't it? I really don't intend it that way. I do care about quality content.

I hate personally expending resources (which I don't have so I haven't attempted any flagging yet), or see others who do have resources expending so much, especially if it is either a losing battle or a an unseemly but low profit wasteland.

I think we all need to know that, and then maybe adjust strategies accordingly.