They cite cost as the issue, that only 2600 users represent half of all comments on their entire system.

I don't know how much they are paying for a third party to manage their comment system, but I will bid $500/month to handle those 2600 users comprising half of all comments, or $1000/month for all comments. All inclusive bid. I can get this tiny number of users running on a pretty modest system.

My proposed system will also save money on subpoenas and moderation overhead by not storing ip addresses and not having paid moderation.