Helmet Fire,
The system that DS implemented has been working fine up here for the longest time. The key is just as you said: You have to make area position reports.
Even if you think you are the only person in the sky. It goes beyond just letting people know your intentions and into the recording equipment of the ATC types.
It appears to me that a lot of pilots choose not to do this, whether from laziness or lack of professionalism. It is not uncommon to have an aircraft appear in the same airspace without any warning even if you are transmitting. This leads to the conclusion that a lot of pilots are not monitoring the correct frequencies nor switching enroute.
What to do?