Vim does not have multiple cursors which can be placed ANYWHERE even multiple on the same line and at any offset. You are clearly not aware of what Vim actually offers.
To be fair to the commenter, you didn't provide any details in the example you provided. For all we (the readers) know, Visual Block mode would have worked in the situation you are describing. I have to assume not, but it's not clear from the article.
Vim macros are not that hard to write, but I do agree with you, visual feedback is better. It can be annoying to have to re-record a macro, that's why I tend to use :s (search & replace) or Visual Block mode over using a macro (most of the time I don't need a macro).
I understand you state vim is "just an example", but you use this example as the main backbone of your article. Add more detail. You're arguing with vague anecdotes which requires the reader to read between the lines.
An aside: visual feedback, multi-cursor support and sane defaults is likely what led to new modal editors being created, such as Helix and Kakoune.
Same line edits can be done with search and replace and regex. And your article doesnt specify offsets, in which case you can use a plugin, which you state you already have to do that for sublime's flaws. There's so many other examples you couldve used.