That is true, it can be a double edged sword that could be praised by some but critiqued by others. I didn't see the point you raise about focusing on rep which is completely true. When I play online sometimes I focus too much on my score, trying to increase it and hopefully not reduce it. But still it is a good drive for me to keep pushing myself to do better. I guess it depends on the person.
Actually I was on my way to write a post about this. Although it might not be a solution, it could be good to raise again the point to make people think outside of the box :)