I think making a few specific tags or communities ineligible to 'trend' on the main page would be a simple solution. Have a flashy button somewhere that looks important, push it, and that leads behind the scenes.
With something like that, witnesses and developers can still produce content and be a part of the community that way, and at the same time have a place where their important notes aren't lost or scattered all over the chain, overlooked, or hogging top slots and bugging people. It's for their own good. The community often loses trust in the witnesses when their posts hog all the glory. I'm just being honest. Not trying to be a jerk. I liked your post and I hope you're having a fine day.