@t-nut,
I got a 27.5cm wide 166cm long board to freeride and carve on in softboots, because I have size 10.5 boots. It carves, freerides, and handles trees just great. If someone with a size 9 boot jumps on it, they will think it's sluggish and unfit for certain activities. That is the concept of scale I mentioned. Boards good for carving in softboots will be different widths for different people.
Declaring all softboot carving-capable boards as bad freeriders is shortsighted, or even rude. Anyone who rides a snowboard and spends a not-insignificant portion of their time on groomers should be able to carve (I realize this is a radical concept). Of these people, anyone who rides a snowboard that is not wide enough to prevent boot-out while carving is riding a snowboard that is not wide enough, period. They should get a properly sized board and learn how to use it everywhere. And I'm not talking Knapton-wide here. The vast majority of softbooters ride boards that are too narrow. Heck, too many softbooters ride stances that leave them with more board behind their back foot than there is in front of their front foot.