Allybeboba
Legend
The community was not significantly different even as far back as 2007-2008. Except it was mostly rogues with fiery/crusader enchants and butcher's slicers talking shit on the WoW forums.
What you have experienced, most likely, are the occasional moments of elevation that sometimes occur when more than a couple of sane, intelligent twinks make an effort to organize and collaborate. These moments come and go.
The community used to be a lot more "giving" and "sharing". A lot more collaborative as well. Even before the "Ruin Migration" we had our cliques, but not as bad as it is now. We used to have guides galore.