You are right, most aren't malicious. Some (a few) are just too lazy or time challenged to even find out what is the right thing.
Sometimes just a visit from cheetah is enough to make people realize. I used the old 'steemflags' service back in the day. Fortunately it's no where near as large a problem as before.
Yes, things have definitely gotten better. I mainly see it out in the tribes and communites.