That dan/theman and other insiders who got massive free vests or had inside information when mining the first week want to be gatekeepers for the reward pool is a major reason steem has a very small chance of success.
The practice might in rare cases be tolerable, but as so many have noted, these insiders spent the months when steem had the highest price completely exploiting the reward pool.
Their actions are not only controlling (which is antithetical to decentralized systems) but hypocritical.
I don's see it as being a gatekeeper for the reward pool, more removing the barriers to scaling steem. These insiders also designed steem, the economic system and propelled it forward to where it is today.
They're guiding the ship - give them a little space.