BrianM, you weren't here, and didn't have to weather a number of the things that people here have who've been here for the last seven years or more. From Scorched Planet, etc, to the fact that Devin has become one of the main voices of the site, to the fact that Chewers as a forum was only a small part of the whole, to going from a community of people to whatever size there is now.
There is a truth that you can only walk through a river once, because both you and the river have changed, and most of us aren't going to go through growing pains twice. I recognize that. At the same time, at that time, there was more film discussion, and not hype discussion, and when people went to see movies they would talk about them, and not talk at. The whole ettiquite has changed. If you've ever been a part of a boutique site, you might know how that works. This thread had shorthand.
I honestly do not give a shit about the good old days, but not recognizing the difference between then and now doesn't mean there isn't a huge categorical difference.