It appears that some of us are conditioned to assume that familiar mechanisms—such as using “@” mentions or similar methods to invite users into a topic—also apply to private messages. In practice, that is not the case; adding users requires using the “+” control.
In the earlier, now-closed topic from a few years ago, I referenced the “Add or Remove” button. When rereading my reply today, I went looking for that button and found it was no longer present. However, the note about checking under the first reply was still useful: the “+” control is located there, and it works as expected.
As a result, my reply from years ago is no longer accurate. I am posting this clarification for others who may encounter that topic and wonder why searching the page for “add” no longer locates the control.
I am not expecting the behavior to be reverted, though it is admittedly easier to search for “add” than for “+”.