I'm not only commenting more (because I'm not afraid people will bite my head off for everything I say) I'm also reading a lot more comments in general. I think it's for the same reason, the comment threads seem to involve actual constructive discourse. It's funny that I read fewer posts here than I did at Reddit but I spend a lot more time per post.
Oh, don't worry. There's still plenty of people who will bite your head off or call you a "concern troll" for genuine opinions that go against the hive mind. Things are just slower.