Expectations are the biggest issue around people coming and going in my opinion... Yah having good content is only half of the puzzle, and thats where people go wrong - they forget the social side of Steemit - I would even suggest new users spend a week or two just engaging and getting to know how Steem works and meeting people before they even post.
Yeah I have met loads of great people on Discord.
I think there must be something like this already happening - such as @curie, although they are less specific and community orientated just focussed on under rated content.
P.s. Sorry for the late replys we are off travelling now :)
No worries on the late replies, Steemit can feel like a full-time job sometimes!