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First I want to say that I don't really like the opening of this thread because it is nearly a screed that borders on a personal insult to the owner of this now-defunct site. The conclusion drawn is agenda-driven and not objective at all: there's no evidence whatsoever that the reason for their loss in popularity was because they offered harsh critiques of moe slice-of-life shows like K-On, or that changing those opinions would have led to a different outcome. "I'm still here and you're not" is not itself proof of anything; there are so many reasons a community dies out, and it's far too simplistic to blame it all on one factor (that may not even really be a true reason at all). We don't need to keep taking potshots at specific people after they're already gone from the scene in an effort to prove some sort of point.
That being said... I do remember this "era" and I, too, was annoyed at the time with what sometimes seemed to be sanctimonious gatekeepers trying to tell people that the shows they legitimately enjoyed were "objectively garbage" (even though there was very little objective about any of it). But now, it seems to me that people like this blog owner and others who wrote in that style were trying to find their audience of peers -- likeminded people who were interested in the same kind of academic-style writing and discussion they enjoyed, and shared similar views on popular trends. In that sense, it's not so different from why any of the rest of us spend time discussing anime culture online. In some ways they fed off the strong negative emotional reaction they got from "fanboys" -- they were a sort of "counterculture" that enjoyed being a bit provocative. But I think a lot of time was wasted trying to argue with them when, really, people could have just focused more on speaking positively and cogently about what they enjoy and why. This too is a way of finding a peer group of people who enjoy anime and share similar tastes, and I know a lot of people here on this very forum found likeminded anime fans because of that.
The other thing is... a lot of the authors on that blog, and people with opinions like theirs, were "anime junkies" who tried to watch "all the anime" and wanted to try to have academic opinions on absolutely everything. Some of them were trying to be the absolute "art connoisseurs" of anime. And I really think that, just like some professional movie/TV/game critics, this can cause people to get jaded and become really entrenched in the kinds of experiences that they still find fulfilling after so much oversaturation. The kinds of experiences that stick out as being the cream of the crop to those people are not necessarily going to be the same shows that the average person is going to find the most entertaining. The problem isn't necessarily that the average person is less cultured or experienced, but can also be that the junkie doesn't have the balance of healthy moderation to keep their senses in check. (For example, they tend to overvalue the "unique" experience rather than a comforting/familiar experience, and the latter is a huge factor for entertainment.)
Whenever you read any sort of opinion or critique, you always have to take into account the writer's own bias and perspective. Just because someone is a good writer and seems to make smart arguments doesn't mean they're "objectively correct" about what makes good entertainment for any given person. The one problem these writers often had is that they became entrenched in their reasons for watching anime and the factors of their own personal enjoyment (and those of their like-minded friends) that they missed the fact that other people are wired differently, and enjoying something for different reasons doesn't mean you're somehow inferior. But of course, if we in turn look down on them for the reasons for their own personal enjoyment, we're not so different.
So anyway, I guess all this to say... I think we should aim for more understanding of people with different opinions about topics like these, and that includes the authors of this old blog being criticized posthumously (the blog is what's dead, of course). Even if you disagreed with their point of view and took objection to their tone sometimes, seeing other opinions helps you sharpen your own understanding of what you like and don't like, and can help you learn to articulate why. Sometimes you can find just as good recommendations for yourself by reading critics you always disagree with. And besides that... I really think it's time to let go of these old grudges by old critics who you feel wronged you and the shows you liked in the past. Whatever they said didn't take the shows you loved away from you anyway, so it's really all water under the bridge.
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