Your comments were heard.
The Discussion Facility has been revised so that it is restricted to discussion about papers and presentations at the conference. The site now reads:
This discussion forum has been initiated to provide an opportunity for speakers to interact online with the attendees and the general public. The discussions consist of questions and comments from the attendees to the conference speakers and the speakers’ responses. Naturally, we cannot guarantee that all speakers will agree to provide answers, but we hope that many will participate. If a speaker chooses not to respond, there would still be the opportunity to at least make comments about the presentation. Anyone can read the various replies that are made on a topic, but one has to register to make comments. Reference the Program to learn about each topic.
Seems like a good idea.