But my comment wasn't exactly addressing a me problem. Maybe I'm wrong to assume, but I was also putting the thoughts of other people into consideration. Newbies especially.

You asked good questions. Something like you suggested must be going on in the minds of some people who dip their toes into this place and decide it's not for them. And I've seen my share of people complaining about their rewards all the time while remaining here.

For me, I've decided that I'll keep posting. And here's what I tell my friends that get discouraged from posting. Most of them are photographers like me, so I tell them or ask them rather;

What is the value you get from not posting your content on the Hive? They don't answer this question. So I go ahead to them to see the Hive as just another regular platform with the probability of earning a reward from it. If you don't post, you earn nothing. If you post, you might earn nothing too, but there's a slim chance that you would.

That logic is impregnable. Apart from an insignificant loss of time, there is no cost to sharing your photography on Hive, too. Dropping by to engage is likely to be worth your while if your content is good.