I think there needs to be at least a disclaimer that there are a few dozen site accounts here that are on fire, many of them not playing the game any longer so not either engaged with the game or part of Blizzard's revenue stream to begin with. I've seen a lot of the same thing on reddit: players who quit long ago or are making the typical performative "I Quit" posts there that inevitably seem to be followed a few weeks later with some game complaint that clearly demonstrates they didn't quite for long if at all.
The comments about a huge exit from the game over these emotes, pictures and flirts doesn't really seem to be based in reality. In fact, we have no idea if there is a larger exit than usual. There might be! There might not! We don't know because Blizzard doesn't hand that out and external measures are all suspect for one reason or another.
The 'playerbase' is a very large entity and it's likely wrong to make generic assumptions about all of them. I think it's great that people are speaking up with their own thoughts. I think it's pointless and a waste of time to assume that everyone else is 'basically' with them.