Or – are you comfortable with such abusers making money and gaining high reputations on a platform into which you have put a lot of time and energy...and maybe even your own money?

It is always better to weed such abusers out of Steemit, keeping them will create a bad reputation for Steemit and discourage new people from joining the community. If abusers stay then STEEMIT may end up being tagged "Den Of Scammers"