It's possible that it was the "dazzle of the new", as you put it, but there seemed to be a genuinely higher quality comments section as well, in the sense there were less heated discussions. I mean, compare the quality of discussion here versus that of the discussion, say, here. Now, you could argue that there's a qualitative difference here--abstract thoughts about AI versus feminism, a highly politicized topic--and I would agree that that's a legitimate distinction to make, but still: there used to be a time when LW wouldn't really bring up political discussion at all unless it was strictly relevant. And even when politics was brought up, like, say, here, there was a genuine effort to remain polite and on-topic which, frankly, I'm not really seeing as much in the newer threads. Maybe I'm just imagining things; I don't know. But even if I am, I can only describe my own impressions--and right now, in my impression, there really does seem to have been a definite drop in the quality of discussion.