Our community means nothing if we can't figure out more solid ways to reward good behavior and punish bad actors.

I wouldn't go that far. I think the community can mean a lot of things to a lot of people even if they don't know or don't care about using their Steem responsibly. Although, I think people will start to cooperate more once we get closer to zero. All the more reason to look forward to it and perhaps finally uncovering Steem's true potential.

I'm surprised "the community" hasn't taken the opportunity to discuss what governance means to us at this point. Although I'm not a big fan of governance in blockchains, the reason you have it in the first place is to fix issues. I don't really feel like my stake really means anything in terms of decision making around here. I'm sure the smaller and less established folks feel the same. I'd love to have a 730 SP vote on something that matters unlike the current witness scheme where the dead stake has more impact than me.