Re:  "At the very least, it has demonstrated a model for other developers to learn from..."
Good point (not your only one, haha, but) Yes, Steemit Inc and all of us need to remain aware that if not kept "in tip-top shape" its model will be copied and/or improved upon. As said I just spend $200 on BTC to convert to Steem, and have been somewhat all-in to date, but I've also signed up for Akasha to see what it offers. Steemit has broken ground yes, but keeping the top position even in the market you created is a whole different ballgame. "Tom" at MySpace knows this all too well, so hopefully we'll find ourselves emulating "Jeff" at Amazon.com more than anyone. He basically invented (or popularized?) the concept of an online affiliate program for instance, and stayed on top even after Books-a-Million , Walenbooks, and other bookstores came online as his early "competitors". I know Steemit has an affiliate program in the background - it might be time to rev it up in order to dominate marketshare before other competitors arise?

I'm glad you said "I'd gladly sacrifice my reputation points and future earnings in order to help clean things up for everyone else and give Steemit a better chance for mass adoption and success."  
I have been biting my tongue about a lot of things on here and unfortunately for guys like me the payouts have been extremely frustrating.  Only an extremely stubborn person would still be on here working for $0.50 / hour.  Steemit has hemoraged so many good content creators it isn't even funny.  Eventually there won't be any new people who have the crypto skills and exchange accounts to join this platform.  Steemit needed us to create content and help create a bridge for people outside the crypto world.  By upvoting sock puppet accounts everyday they have alienated a very important demographic off of this platform.  Would anyone really expect a guy like me to spend my time creating on here when I can spend 5 hours on a post and not even be able to buy a candy bar with the payout?

>In the mean time, I'm seriously re-evaluating my quiet, gentlemanly approach to certain matters... I'd gladly sacrifice my reputation points and future earnings in order to help clean things up for everyone else and give Steemit a better chance for mass adoption and success.

I have sacrificed some reputation for speaking out about some of the abuses and will likely see future earnings hindered as well. I wish more people would follow suit or at least acknowledge and condemn the abuses when they are pointed out. Instead, they simply ignore them, make excuses, or condemn those exposing the abusers. My plan was not to speak out for personal gain. I actually hoped that the platform would be better off knowing which accounts were shams and who was behind them. Apparently, you're actually rewarded more for being a sham and a scammer around here - especially when you're a "whale" or a friend of them.