Ah, the old days of the web, when it was possible to make money via AdSense. Users would actually bookmark sites those days, so there was no need to throw an email signup popup in their face when the page loaded. The comments would have real people conversing, and not filled with spambots pushing fake Guccis and Air Jordans.
Comments went a downward spiral right about when facebook got popular. It canabolised the regular comments + the comments from other creatives/bloggers