I agree, but I think this is a direct result of the decline in Steem value. There is less money to go to the comments.
I have 8,000 SP, I used to be able to give 5-10 cents a post. I could comment, upvote my own post and get a little payment. Now my own upvote doesn't even give a penny. There is more money in posting currently, and not in commenting.
The hope is that people would comment because they have something to say first, and because they'll get paid second. I've had just as much fun in the comments section of a post as I have reading the actual post.
That's a good point about the value of Steem affect comment population, it just sucks it's taken this big of a hit.
I think that once they allowed Following and Resteeming, the amount of posts that I want to read because they are in my feed has increased a lot. With a limited time frame for visiting steemit, mostly taken up by reading, it's easier to just hit the up vote button and move on to the next post than to take the time to produce a quality comment.
But I do like the interaction of the comment section. It definitely has value. As for the monetary value, I once got $700 for a comment on a whale post, so for those who comment mainly for payout, it could happen to you too! But like anything else in life, do it because you enjoy it and find value in it.
Nice article and a good comment section!
@d3nv3r sent me here! I am still learning my way but the comments on this thread and post, are right up the alley I chatted with others about. Namely @donkeypong last night. #SteemPoked bro! #SteemPoke