Yes. Things feel out-of-balance without it to me. However, if the meaning is unclear (something something stripping Hitler and Stalin), I will work around it and/or use other punctuation. I think I have a bit of a weird synesthesia thing going on for written text (English or written code (in the programming sense); I don't have it as much in the other languages I read/write, but it isn't absent there, either).
japanfinance, japanlife, etc. It's not about the communities themselves, it's about the huge amount of knowledge and experience that rests in the people engaging with them
It's still not perfect, but there were some changes in recent years. The main residents-only sub split into two with different moderation policies. I'm subbed to both. I also think some people generally chilled out more, and the removal of certain trolls also increased. Just my opinion, but I also don't spend nearly as much time there.
None of the communities I actually need ever migrated here; most people just did not care. I still go to reddit for things relating to Japanese residency topics, finances, etc. as it is the only place I know of. I only visit those subs, though.
There are also people like me who post like one thing a year (though I comment much more).
Yep. In Japan we all use LINE with a small fraction of (largely Western foreigners) using whatsapp. Korea has kakaotalk with some (also?) using LINE. I'm not sure what's most popular in Chinese circles these days; WeChat, maybe?