"When new users, or even long term minnows see how easily some people drain the rewards while they cannot get any visibility it is disheartening and slows the growth of the platform, one of the biggest obstacles we face going forward." - Precisely, this is a serious issue that needs to be sorted out and the sooner, the better. I am one of those long term minnows and I have noticed how difficult it is to gain the visibility I need in order to generate a decent reward for my efforts.
Abusing the platform and reward pool hurts us smaller accounts and we are here for the same reasons everyone else is, to grow a community, express ourselves and hopefully be rewarded. I do my best to promote the site but with this kind of activity ongoing it's going to be ever increasingly difficult for new people to truly become interested and if they do join, they'll leave when they don't see much coming from their investments.