Hey @glenalbrethsen.

"A minnow of 500 SP really isn't middle class in my mind. Someone in the 3000 SP range and up is definitely closer, though."

Honestly speaking, I agree with you to some extent. 500 SP might not be enough to be a middle class, as that would mean that people with 501 SP would be on the way from middle class to upper class. And it would be hard to say where the "upper class" begins.

I mean, dolphins could basically be the middle class, as we have both orcas and whales above them, and red fish, minnows and plankton below:

That said, dolphin level is at 5000 SP meanwhile Minnows are at 500 SP. So I personally believe that the real middle class should begin somewhere at 2500 SP in a "perfect world" so to speak.

However, the gap between the different classes are huge, and I personally know how difficult it is for newcomers to reach that 500 SP mark, which is why I also believe it's important to help these users and also to make them feel "more included" in the ecosystem.

I will continue to mention 500SP as the middle class, as I believe that 500SP is a huge milestone for these people. They deserve to feel more "included" and more important on STEEM in general. They also get the voting slider at 500SP, so I think it's a good idea to have them included in the middle class at that point.

That being said, I like your mindset and I appreciate the comment. I can totally see that you'd do good things with 100K SP. :)

Cheers!