I am guessing people downvoted you because you just included excerpts from the article and said "superb" etc. Your comment did not add any value. Hence the downvotes.

I didn't downmod, so I can't say why others did it. But if I were to think of a reason: your comment did not add anything new to the discussion. The section quoted was in the relatively short article anyways. I guess quoting could be forgiven if one were to say something about it, reflect upon it, expand it, or confront it. Your comment felt like a long 'me-too' http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/me-too

I discovered a little while ago that it's hazardous to post opinions, because of 'random drive-by downvoters'. In a sense, these are the real trolls: misusing the voting system... to what end? Or is it just sheer laziness?

Downvoting should be employed against spammers or trolls; for everything else, write a sensible reply!