I'm not voting. I heard that back when they were substantially effective they were spammed by ninjas and caused difficulties for servers+players. Though I've a machine which could likely handle the strain, such mass volleys of particle effects would either force some players to turn particle effects off or, at worst, slow down the servers for everybody.
Wierd, I never once remembered them as being very effective, especially because people would turn the effects off. But I am not suggesting that the max amount be increased or the smoke effect be increased, just reduce the weight so it doesn't encumber you as much as it currently does.