I don't give big blames to the evil fees but bullies in the forum. Some DT bullies who goes around tagging newbies and lower members for some stupid reasons. It also scare new comers.
It's been like that ever since I joined Bitcointalk. As a Newbie, this was a scary place. It makes your account feel insignificant, and you see people left and right getting tagged for the smallest things.
That's what makes eddie13's post so good: tiny things get a harsh treatment, while the huge altcoin, ICO, Defi and NFT money makers designed for pump and dump are left alone. The only thing that got some backlash were Bitcoin Forks.
Good to hear one of the forum OGs confirm that it has been like that from the beginning. But time changes and also things do.