Excellent review of Bitstamp for the detail and balanced viewpoint that's given. Though I would say that more credit should be given for being one of the longest running exchange. Yes, Bitstamp was slow to take on alternative cryptocurrencies, but it was and has always been a major volume center for bitocin trading.
My analysis of Bitstamp would also analyze the users. Let's not forget that the site has one of the largest European user-bases.