Probably a product of forum growth. When forums get bigger then inevitably they are going to end up attracting all sorts of people, including those who bring lesser quality. Then you see the older core members becoming cynical and some eventually leave, a new core is formed, rinse and repeat. I've seen on other forums people who used to be respected members have to resort to trolling and dumb jokes to get their posts noticed these days because that's what the majority now deem acceptable and normal. Which in turn might actually deter new people from joining if that's the vibe the regulars project.