Yes sir, you are right. I disabled them because I'm not convinced they add meaningful value. And so does the "New replies" system I took days to build. If someone reads what others write, they will surely come across a message mentioning them. And when that's the case, it becomes a nice surprise. It took me a while to realize that.
Totally dig it. Which might even "fomo drive" a bit more reading, in hopes of unearthing said somewhat buried treasure.