What precedent?
It's a feature not a bug.
I must say, I'm surprised that you are so surprised this type of move is possible on a DPOS blockchain and now feel "sad" about it.
That's the whole point of having a DPOS blockchain. A DPOS blockchain is supposed to be an enterprise blockchain. It's not trying to achieve to do what bitcoin does.
Because of the influence you have on this platform, I would have thought you better understood how this works.
Where does it say that witnesses have to first check with the rest of the community before they take action?
IMO, the witnesses did actually read the sentiment quite correctly. You can't just buy a blockchain and then do with it what you want. Of course, you can't!
Now the ball is in the camp of Tron or @justinsunsteemit and I hope he likes how the steem community forms more of challenge than some of his previous acquisitions did.
More exciting, no?
If I was an entrepreneur like Justin, I would like this kind of push back.
Great times ahead!
RE: Vlog 459: A sad day for Steem