I can’t really share some of the sentiments – I'm using CS for a few months now, host plenty and so far have had no problem finding a couch in popular places (London, Berlin) with reasonable due diligence when picking guests and hosts.
I think a lot of the criticism is just life-cycle rooted. Sites grow, evolve and users of the "first hour" no longer see "their site" as what it once was and leave. I could say the same for... Ebay, for example – used to be fun to browse and sell. Now there are commercial sellers galore, millions of products and all the magic is gone. But that’s my personal perception. The site still works. Just not for me, so I have moved on. Doesn’t qualify calling Ebay "fallen" imo.
I think a lot of the criticism is just life-cycle rooted. Sites grow, evolve and users of the "first hour" no longer see "their site" as what it once was and leave. I could say the same for... Ebay, for example – used to be fun to browse and sell. Now there are commercial sellers galore, millions of products and all the magic is gone. But that’s my personal perception. The site still works. Just not for me, so I have moved on. Doesn’t qualify calling Ebay "fallen" imo.