Hi Maan, this is a deep topic and a sensitive decision from the Steemit Inc.

They could offer support, criticism, and suggestions, sometimes warmly, sometimes assertively — but they genuinely tried to uphold the spirit of community stewardship.

Without that channel, where do those perspectives go? Is there still room for governance input beyond the occasional suggestion in a Discord channel or a comment on a post?

Well, even when SR were still active, there were some users that still did this without any channel..., just a comment or post. So, I'm not sure this spot is closed.

Even you as a user can still give your feedback on certain topics or what might seem as an issue in the blog.

However, the new plans sounds like a good adventure that might yield some positive feedbacks.....it's just an experiment.