I think you overestimate how large the percentage of people leaving actually was. Wish it was, but don't think the number actually leaving made a still visible dent in their traffic graph. surely some toric specific knowledge did leave though.
Really? I've had the complete opposite experience. Every time I comment it seems that I'm interacting with actual people. And I've found the conversations to be a lot more wholesome in comparison to reddit.
Maybe it's my selection of posts though...