I saw it publicly first voiced by TRW.

I do understand the reasoning and would have been totally fine with 8/2 as it would have shown that witnesses, several of them also involved in development and thus potential benefactors of the DAO, were open to also contribute a (small) share.

After all, while the Steem blockchain could be used just for its fast tx and easy wallet which doesn't require any additional app download, the core of the chain is creation rewards. Ergo, without creators... don't need all those witnesses either because very little raison d'être.