The OP uses the word "insane", not outlier. It's clickbaity, and used in jest, but I think it better captures a subtlety of this phenomenon: The prolific commenters are molding every discussion in their image. They might have an interesting angle on the story, or they might just be saying trivial things with beautiful prose. In any case, there is a lack of diversity in general -- discussions are driven by the worldview of a few.
That would be an argument for lurkers to make an effort, even if, like this comment, it's just a barely-formed idea.
Edit: "molding the discussion" -> "molding every discussion"
i started getting downvoted a lot. since then, i've become much more of a lurker and have remained logged-out.
to me it's obvious, and necessarily the case, that the conversation happening is not representative of my views because i'm not sharing them. it's not worth it to me to contribute to the conversation, and get embroiled in an accidental dispute.
my views are my own, and i don't need to spend a lot of time sharing them at other people in order to live a satisfied life.
the internet, like the real world before it, is not my own space... and to the extent that i exist in it, i'm happier going my own way and not encountering lame-o jerks.