In the long term, though, it could cause noticible implosion of related industries. I'm kinda imagining that this kind of regulation is going to be so clearly harmful that its removed.
It looks like the group described was fairly exclusive: members were voted in. That probably contributed a lot to making sure that the community was reflective of the best qualities of the members.
> I long for the day when people can do good science just for the sake of good science, and not have to spin every single paper as being the start of some new revolution that never seems to come.
I absolutely agree - but I think that's only going to happen when people's livlihoods are not dependent on the immediate value of their research.