I think right now the developers are still working on foundational stuff. Like HF20 is primarily about streamlining the signing up process. That is still a super basic thing, but for Steem, that's where we're at. Perhaps one day they'll address these other issues that are serious for the people using the platform today, but who knows. As you said, communication when it comes to stuff like this is basically nonexistent.
I can't say I fully understand all the changes coming.. It all sounds great but from my basic understanding it seems like its really geared towards drawing in more 0$ invested users. Other than the exploit updates and faster transaction times. Again, I only have a basic understanding but, think we need more investors instead of more $0 users.