The main reason is the price has fallen so much that a lot of younger people can afford them. I'm not saying every young person is a twat before anyone starts, but once upon a time the club consisted of mainly over 30's who have had their car for years and years and were serious about tuning / modifying.
Now we have a lot of new members who are teens / early twenties and will likely only have the car for a few months. The older people can take a joke and have a laugh, but the joys of youth also carries a big chip on its shoulder, so having a laugh with someone is now taken as a personal affront ( with all the threats etc coming soon after ).
You'll notice that all the people going in the huff and stropping off aren't even members or members with very low post counts.Thats my tuppence worth anyway.
The age thing is pretty much borne out by the number of people using 'txt spk' now, and it annoys the hell out of everyone over 25
The other thing is the quality of posts. I mean, 'why does an evo have a different turbo to a pulsar' ???? :lol: