I've also thought long and hard about saying any more on this thread but would just like to address a couple of the points brought up in BIWI's and Hullygully's latest posts as although I am not the only one who brought a counter view to the good old days I am the one who has been more noticed or more vociferous.
If you form friendships on MN (or anywhere else online), what's wrong with chatting to your mates, or waving st them? (That heinous crime!). None of that is deliberately excluding others. There's nothing to stop anyone else joining in a conversation.
Nothing wrong with forming friendships, chatting to your mates or waving at them on a thread started by you or one of your friends, it's pretty rude and inconsiderate to do it and take over a thread started by a new or relatively unknown poster, ignore the poster who started the thread leaving them drifting in the wind whilst you have a catch up with your friends that is what people took issue with.
If you don't like people reminiscing about how it used to be here, why post? Why be so sneery about it? Things have undoubtedly changed - inevitably since the site is so much bigger. As someone used to say here - let's have a bit of PARD
Why is it unacceptable to post and say it wasn't all sweetness and light and fluffy bunnies, that some things are better now and some things are worse which is what I said in my very first post? Do reminiscent threads only have to highlight the good?
Some of the responses to the dissenters to the it was all lovely have been very telling and very dismissive it's as if people don't want to hear or accept that some pretty horrible shit went on under the guise of intelligent wit and humour and that those who weren't part of the 'chosen' were the ones on the receiving end of it but it is somehow their fault for it happening to them and they shouldn't mention it because it makes those who did it look bad.
None of the above comes from personal experience by the way so it's not sour grapes on my behalf it is mere observation and an attempt at standing up for those to whom it did happen and have expressed it on this thread and been dismissed or told to get over it.
Anyway I've banged this drum for long enough that I am boring even myself so I'll just retire gracefully.