but it doesn't blend well with the free speech social world of content platforms.

It really doesn't. As you can see from our whales' behaviors.

You have nailed it pretty much.

There are talks of getting rid of the STEEM reward pool and let SMTs and/or SCOTs from tribes do the same thing, and communities spawn from those can moderate themselves.

The eyes on the STEEM tokens have made it absolute hell for proof of brain to work.