To the comment swap, we haven't been introduced, haven't we? - Comments

I see nothing wrong with comment swapping. It is a perfectly legitimate way to get your story out there. Why should you have to wait around for people to stumble across your story and enjoy it? Why not broadcast the story to as many people as possible? Comment swapping is a way to get good concrit. A lot of story comments nowadays seem to be more, "Great story!" But when you swap, you get in-depth opinions on your story.

I don't think it's fair to call comment swapping lame or insinuate that people are 'buying feedback' because they can't get it any other way. I get a satisfactory amount of feedback on my stories, but I still comment swap. It's nice to get new readers. A lot of devoted readers I get come from a comment swap, and it's a good way to find stories to read, yourself.

explain it as if it's your passion, i don't think i'll read if it isn't

Oddly, I see where you're coming from and agree to some extent.
I personally like swaps, well...for the most part. I also find interesting stories that way more often than going through the endless lists.
I only do constructive swaps though; I don't need people swapping me comments that are one-line "love update soon!"

If I'm doing comment swap, I'm going to make it count for something outside of the total number of comments I have, and I return the favor of critiques. I guess it annoys me when I say this, and the receiving end of my comments still don't like it when I have something criticism.