I have to admit I agree more with @beggars than with you when it comes to the responsibilities of the witnesses. AFAIK few of them are experienced developers or sysadmins while many Steemit users have such a background. Requiring witnesses to run a test node seems absolutely reasonable to me but it's a major change in how witnesses are chosen and that's why I'm afraid it ain't gonna happen. Because for 35 years we all expect computers to work, not to be maintained heavily.
What should not be forgotten is that all of this could be a blue-print for other blockchain-based projects but I suppose you're already aware of that ...