In reply to Terence Milbourn.

You got it! There's no such thing as free. Someone's always paying for it. Automattic wasn't mentioned in this article. They don't own or operate Disqus. You may have them confused with IntenseDebate which is a commenting service owned and operated by Automattic.

Definitely stay away from third-party anything if that's how you feel but I see where you're coming from.