I know nothing of code, but transparency and democratization/decentralization are what one would think essential for something like STEEM/Steemit. I could understand how that can be scary (especially if STEEM is your baby), but those should be central values of the blockchain on which it floats or sinks (I'm not saying we should throw it into open sea and hope for the best, good rules built into the code are what one would think would prevent abuse, attract newcomers and prevent the sinkage).
The zero hour ninjamining and centralization are what made me lose some trust and confidence in this blockchain several months ago when I found out, and I know I'm not the only one (it takes but a Google search to see what people are saying). The worth of any (crypto)currency is measured by how much people trust it (STEEM has the added value of Steemit content creation, but I don't think this side of the value equation has lifted off yet).