personally i think its the first time in 8 years online i see people blaming script for SEO ranking
i see some sites droped i see some sites up or stayed and all using ST , just because its a great and many people using it and thats the reason many got affected, but before blaming the script
have you checked if the guys that still on top
1) working harder on their links ?
2) hand written gallery descs ( and not duplicate as on other 10000's sites )
3) adding additional content on the site except same gals as 10000's others
4) SEO friendly html
5) SEO friendly site structure
the list of things can be endless, but one thing is sure if you do get penalty its because of the CONTENT and not the content manager
i've seen people complaining on mainstream boards too , and none of them even heard of ST so.... Content is still the king as always ;)