No words can explain my distaste for the change. You already have two minutes to kill whoever stops talking to you. If they start zooming off because they F1'd, wait where you last saw them. They re-appear right on that spot when they log in. Chances are, they'll come back within five minutes.
And with my recent internet connections, this will make it VERY difficult for me, since I travel with a buddy as I trade, and I travel through crowded Omicron/Liberty space ALOT.
EDIT: To describe to you how my connection has been working, it doesnt gradually die, but it suddenly just -stops- all internet connection, and then gradually comes back. It has the same effect as F1ing.