Ironically I was led here by having my original comic post flagged by a user calling himself "johngreenfieldBOT" (@superlove). I have kind of figured that it couldn't be you :)
I think the most important point is that content is the original idea behind Steemit. Quality content was what should create value, not investors. They were supposed to come because the content had made Steem valuable.
Steemit inc. is not good at communicating and not good at showing what their intentions are, which is very bad for user confidence both in the socail network and for the currency. I think they could learn from the bombastic language used by central banks. A "War on Abusers, spammers and losy content" from the Steemit inc. would be a good signal even though the practicalities are harder in reality than in theory.
I completely agree with you, and the lack of communication from Steemit Inc. is something they desperately need to work on. Just like you say, they have the ability to send a strong message, but just aren't doing so.