I kinda feel like this is what other early users went through in their time here. All the old OGs who helped make bitcoin and the forum what it is. Once the forum changed from what their view of it was, they left and went elsewhere.
As humans the past tends to hold a deep sentimental value to us, so things will always look better in retrospect than when we were living in that reality. This is not saying that those who feel the forum has lost its spark are wrong, no not at all. It's just an observation of how we naturally cherish memories.
We have lost many members down the road, we've gained some great ones too, but we seem to be losing faster than we get.