I agree with much of the above, and would like to add that the selfie/instagram/twitter culture may have something to do with it, as if the attention span is becoming shorter, to the point where longer posts aren't always been read anymore. I, too, used to be a member, then disappeared, and recently returned again, and I've also noticed a lot of changes, not all of them for the better.

I think you're probably right about that. I don't know why I expected SG would be somehow frozen in time during my absence. Obviously the cultural changes that have affected the rest of the world would have their impact here, too... But I'm consistently tempted to ask, a la Bill Hicks, "Where do you guys go to think...? I'll meet you there..."