I think it's pretty clear that something needs to be done. While I can certainly appreciate that hunts were added in response to to players' requests for more open-world content, hunts so far have become increasingly toxic, causing individual players to be flamed and blacklisted at the slightest provocation and dividing the community as a whole.

The problem has always been rooted in the rewards associated with hunting. Gear is everything to many people so of course there will be bickering over something that rewards better gear but must be shared among so many. To nerf rewards at this point would be unfair to players who haven't participated in the hunts because they don't want to deal with how terrible some players are being to others right now.

The real solution almost has to be something like what is suggested here. I love the idea of adding incentive for waiting for others to show up--I think you're really onto something. Here's hoping they fix the hunts soon.