Somewhat off topic: I've noticed that, as a non-subscriber, I can no longer comment on Economist articles. Is it just me, or has that happened to everyone?

Given how bad the comment sections were getting, I can't blame The Economist if they closed comments to all non-subscribers. It's a way to deal with the astro-turfers, the trolls, the off-topic rants, and other garbage. And if you want to do it badly enough to pay, well, at least The Economist got paid...