I use both platforms more-or-less equally, and both have their good and not-so-good points. IMO, the current default commenting system on both could be improved. I admit I haven’t seen the latest MT system yet, though I’ve heard good things about it.

Yes, the Administration Panels have need updating regarding comments, so now they are doing so. They listened for several years to what people wanted and watched the changing environment around comments and are now implementing that research. It’s not catchup nor is WordPress poking fun of anyone. They are working on making WordPress as robust and flexible as possible and I admire that.

With MT going open source and feature improvements in all blog platforms and new competitors entering the market, it’s a chase for everyone to keep improving their programs and staying competitive. We can all benefit from the competition.

Of course, it’s perfectly possible for anyone on self-hosted WP to implement their own commenting system using plugins, but this brings it to the masses.

It would be good if this is an option rather than a forced addition, though personally I really like the idea of threaded commenting, scoring systems, etc. I’ve liked it, when implemented well, on other blogs and sites, as it can help in keeping track of different comment threads, and weeding out trolls and irrelevancies, but just haven’t had the will to try and implement it on my own sites.

My concern is about handing comments over to a third-party, however good they are. I’m not sure whether the ID system will be built in (native) to WordPress, or whether it will always be separate service.