Since you're not familiar with the past let me help. BYUtka has a very nostalgic and naive view of the time when reciprocal ignores were an option. The feature did not lead to his imagined utopia with fewer FO posts and less moderation. Moderation has changed over the years, with things being much more tightly regulated now than in the past. It's a trend that has been ongoing since day one. Moderation was even looser in the years before BYUtka joined CB.
I'm not even sure if FO had taken off when reciprocal ignores existed, it took a few years to really become popular.
In essence he's blaming the removal of reciprocal ignores for an ongoing trend and users adopting a new feature. That's as accurate as me blaming BYUtka or you for the moderation becoming more strict since he joined CB. Reciprocal ignores did not stop people from "trolling". "Trolling" on CB usually means posting something that is not far right conservative or 150% pro BYU/LDS Church.
People are posting to FO to avoid moderation, to keep information private and to not have their ideas challenged.