This commenting platform is a poor substitute for the previous one.

Like you I agree that many posters have now left, and it seems to primarily be the ones who wrote long, thoughtful responses to the issue. And for those informed eloquent writers left, you can no longer click on their name and follow their posts. An intentional way of silencing a following?

I suspect that the next step in this evolution will be the G+M either curating what articles may be commented upon, or abandoning commenting in it's entirety.

Progress isn't always progress.