RE: Deconstructing the "Code is Law" Viewpoint on Steem
You seem to be describing the exact situation that caused the Ethereum / Ethereum Classic fork. Ethereum Classic believes that the code is the law. Most people do not.
There are the official rules of the game (the code) and the unofficial,
On Steem, the biggest unofficial rule is proof-of-brain. I was surprised you didn't mention it.
I think to assume that "code is law" is to assume that the code is so secure and well developed that undermining it in any way would be more damaging than not. I think this is obviously not the case because this space is so new and Wild West status. Perhaps as time goes on the laws of the code principal will be more iron-clad, but for now not so much.
As you already know I'm trying to create a side system of positive and negative reinforcement, so that's also a possible solution outside the whole code of law argument.
I doubt that code will ever get to the point where it couldn't be undermined in some way. People always deviate to some optimal meta-game rather than follow developers intentions / societal constraints (proof-of-brain). Even when I was playing with developing better filtering systems, a subset of users managed ways of abusing it. Systems that rely so hard on mechanics to make people behave tend to become fragile to individuals trying to find weaknesses in those mechanics. There's a reason why hackers exist.
This would suggest figuring a means of cooperation at higher social levels. While social networks can enforce some rules, the more decentralized they are, the harder it is for these networks to enforce particular rules.