Agree, but as Frances said cliques were here before the boost. Once writers became popular some tended to only read or promote their faves, and the algo would show the same writers over and over including the bropeneurs. It felt alienating in a different way. A new writer can stumble on and get a boost and that is way more egalitarian in a way than it was when I joined. The popularity contests not being rewarded is not the problem, but good writing used to have occasional organic growth and modest financial reward and that is much less common now.