I think the main reason for refinements not catching on is because of how poorly they were rolled out. I believe they were explicitly described as not for produ

I think the main reason for refinements not catching on is because of how poorly they were rolled out. I believe they were explicitly described as not for production use in 2.0 and how they worked changed in 2.1 (but I think they are now considered stable). The level of trust in the feature hasn't been high but may grow in time and especially once 2.1+ becomes the norm (after Rails 5 is released, I think).