User blog comment:NeonSpotlight/Where did comments go?/@comment-3308937-20120810210845/@comment-2124153-20120810231033

And after a cursory look around, since you couldn't be bothered to link it, it's exactly what I suspected: something completely arbitrary. As such, your excuse is rejected.

I renew my point: put out a call for janitors if the load is too much. Given how much support there was for keeping comments, you should be able to find a few half-decent people.