Exactly, removing the reward pool instantly solves the major things that are wrong with this platform. It's also hard to argue against it. If content creators leave it's because they were doing in for the wrong reasons in the first place. There would be also no more reason to pretend or bend your content around subjects just because you know they get the upvotes and the entire facade would be exposed instantly.
The problem I have with whaleshares is that I have a hard time seeing it have any value. At least on Steem there are dapps being developed. I'm also looking to test out publish0x which works with a tipping mechanism.