I'll be honest, and hope that my comments and honesty don't earn me the silent treatment. I am iteration 2 of a formerly silenced commenter. I learned a lesson or two and consider my comments more carefully before I post them, but it was infuriating to find out that 2 weeks worth of interesting comments weren't receiving responses because no one was reading them.
I am surprised you stuck around, to be honest. I'm not sure I would have, and I'm sure many don't. Could be argued that's the point, but it doesn't feel quite right.