As an aside to all of the issues of politics, moderators, and website ownership...
May I also submit that, at least when I first posted in February 2000 (as jtb106), I truly believe the aviation fan world was MUCH more interesting. Yes I'm older, but I live in Gilbert
AZ on the approach to
PHX Sky Harbor and all day my house is overflown by an endless series of 737NG, Airbus 320 family, and RJs all with quiet high bypass engines, that wouldn't interest me even when I was younger! I hardly even look up anymore.
In 2000 not only did we have the crackle and smoke of 732s, 722s, and DC9/MD80s, which was freaking amazing to watch, BTW, but we had L1011s mooing down runways, DC8s all over the cargo ramp, 747 classics aplenty, and even Concorde to get excited about. It was pre-9/11 and we could park next to the runway or right at the end of it and feel the screaming jets fly over. Each plane was different: the smoky 722 with its perfectly curved wing leading edge, 732s with the soot on the fuselage behind the wing, the subtle differences in the DC-10 family, hell, I think a trip to the airport then could even get you a straight pipe
KC-135 if you were lucky (I know I heard one of the final Vomit Comet flights!) I remember posting on this forum about Fox network possibly getting a Convair 880 in the air for pete's sake! Even the commuter props had more personality, with ugly as sin Shorts 360s all over the place.
And TWA, which my earliest posts will show that I detested, still flew. A final link to the era of romance and glamour while flying, now broken...
Aviation was different, in look, sound, smell, and beauty.
Frankly, I don't know how anyone can be passionate about aviation in a high bypass twinjet world.