A lot of good ideas BUT what I'm really saying is none of these complex solutions are necessary if flagging is dumped.
The main reason it remains is because it allows whales to control the content.
As an example, lets say I took offense at your thoughtful and in depth comment because I feared it weakened my position.
All I have to do is flag your comment and nobody will look at it. Because I have a bigger wallet than you there is nothing you can do about it.
Nobody will look at your comment because they will assume you are just another spammer saying something like "nice flowol me and i bak you flowol" Dissenting view eliminated.
I always click reveal and read what's there. Also on other sites with a moderation system for the comments first thing I do is change the setting so I get to see all comments, even those with are down modded. But maybe that's just me.
It would be great if there was a reveal setting on Steemit (note for boffins)
Those examples of abuses of the flagging system are enough to make strongly consider getting rid of it. I'm just thinking that, at least within the current mindset on steemit, there may need to be some kind of compromise in order to achieve the dissolution of the flag feature. You say you've been lobbying for this change for 10 months now, and a decentralized mute list service that users sign up for voluntarily sounds like a very fair compromise, and could satisfy many of the concerns on all sides of the argument.
Previously the flagging was mostly whale revenge and control flagging, but this new trend is pure censorship using downvoting as it's main tool
Just try copying and pasting some b-grade porn and posting it like the whale at the top of this comments thread does all the time.
I suspect that unlike him, you would find yourself flagged very rapidly!
Flagging serves one major purpose - protecting the interests (maintaining the control) of whales