It is my opinion that this UAV industry and its associated technology is growing at such a rapid pace, the FAA (and other nation's regulatory agencies) are really struggling to keep up with it in regards to regulations. Because of this, I do worry that very restrictive rules could be put into place by the FAA just to maintain a sense of control over something that is growing at an exponential rate - after all, the safety and regulatory control of the US airspace system is their responsibility.
As such, I do think that the OP has posed a question that is worth discussing, because doing so is a great initial step toward we as hobbyists, enthusiasts, and commercial operators 'policing' ourselves.
When I watch a video or read through a discussion involving what would seem to be the use of a UAV in violation of the rules as I understand them, I try to remain non-judgemental, because I generally do not know the full circumstances involved. That said, I think that questioning such use in a non-judgmental fashion is something that would only serve to enhance the safety of this hobby / industry for all of us and the general public.
I think that it is also very probable that many individuals entering into this hobby are completely unaware of the rules, and although one would hope that common sense would prevail, the mere fact that this can be such an exciting and interesting technology to enjoy may often result in common sense being disregarded on a psychological level. We see this almost every day here on the forum, where a question is asked about some basic system operation or behavior that is very well described in the manual, clearly implying that the manual was never read. Instead, the system was simply un-boxed, batteries charged, software updated (maybe), and up it was sent. I'm not judging these folks, but rather, I'm saying that I understand this. So many aspects of these systems are very thrilling, and I think that this sense of thrill causes many to never read the 'small print'.
Lastly, I realize that this is a sensitive topic here on the forum, but I guess it would be my wish and hope that when somebody wants to discuss the rules and regulation related to these systems on this forum - in a non-judgemental fashion - they would only be applauded for doing so. Anything other than this will only discourage discussions regarding the rules, and in my opinion, this is a subject that should be frequently discussed.