I agree that people move on and often have nothing more to say than what has been said. You move on because of other interests and focuses in your life, a pretty normal process I would venture. Some come back, like I have over the past year or so after my interests in the audio side of the hobby was renewed again and had more time because of the economy.
In any case I do believe the open dialogue that was permitted in the early years, as others have noted lent itself a certain flavor that has been lost. Part of it was the relative newness of internet communication. Of course the moderators had their hands full in drawing the lines and how to control the site along with lacking the resources early on, I would guess. When they realized the potential to make money they were pretty much compelled to control the discussion forums to limit some of the contentious that sometimes developed and protecting themselves from potential financial liability. From that point on the site became a bit more controlled and a bit more bland IMO. Having said that there are always newcomers that fill in for those that have left generally adding a great deal of fresh perspective on audio matters and of course the new guys always wanting to know what the "best" is, me too for what its worth and I HEAR you TPReaves.:)
Today this site is primarly a place to buy and sell gear in a safe manner. I don't know if the present proprietors envisioned it as to what it has become but I would certainly venture that they found out it was a pretty good business idea and overall they've done an admirable job!
In any case I do believe the open dialogue that was permitted in the early years, as others have noted lent itself a certain flavor that has been lost. Part of it was the relative newness of internet communication. Of course the moderators had their hands full in drawing the lines and how to control the site along with lacking the resources early on, I would guess. When they realized the potential to make money they were pretty much compelled to control the discussion forums to limit some of the contentious that sometimes developed and protecting themselves from potential financial liability. From that point on the site became a bit more controlled and a bit more bland IMO. Having said that there are always newcomers that fill in for those that have left generally adding a great deal of fresh perspective on audio matters and of course the new guys always wanting to know what the "best" is, me too for what its worth and I HEAR you TPReaves.:)
Today this site is primarly a place to buy and sell gear in a safe manner. I don't know if the present proprietors envisioned it as to what it has become but I would certainly venture that they found out it was a pretty good business idea and overall they've done an admirable job!