The compression release on both of my stihl .090's is not automatic closing one like the one pictured above. Mine are spring loaded, and located so you "thumb" it when you hold the saw's handle bar, while you pull the start rope with the other hand. It's on a single piston 2 stroke, so you get more inertia built up from a few compression free cycles before you release the button. It takes a lot of practice to get the timing down. In the case of the .090's I don't think a human being could start that engine without the compression release. Maybe a gorilla could start it, but not a man, so it does actually work on a 2 stroke single.
***When I've milled lumber in the past there's always been onlookers and rookies who were on the scene. Once a friend gave me his muscle boy employee to help mill a log he had. I asked muscle boy to start an engine for me. The engine ripped the handle out of his hand every time, and it hurts a lot. It usually takes a week for the person's hand to feel normal again after that. He couldn't start it, even after I showed him the technique.
I don't see why a pair of automatic compression releases wouldn't work for a norton, but looking at Constant's modification from the linked thread and his comment that it didn't help much, I would have to believe him because his opinion based on experience.
Also, not every norton is easy to kick over. Mine is a beast to kick over. Again, nobody could do it sitting on the seat, and nobody could do it with their hand... No chance jack... zero.