There are a few "off-Medium social media channels" where such things are actively discussed and discouraged, but it would be great if Medium, itself, offered a forum for serious writers to openly discuss ethical ways to use the platform and promote themselves and one another.

It's sad to see the new writers fall prey to unscrupulous practices, and it will be sadder still to watch Medium implode like so many of its predecessors (Themestream comes to mind, and Red Paper - glorious experiments that ended up exploited and gamed to death, through the same sorts of practices you mention here).