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As a long time fan watching anime since long before the web boom, and observing how fandom has evolved on the internet over the years, I'd generally say they are getting dumber. Of course I'm probably jaded and biased as I subbed for a long time and I'm currently a forum moderator on one of the larger modern communities so I've seen and am still exposed to huge amounts of idiocy, which I tend to notice more than any sign of intelligence.
So I won't vote since I do have an obvious bias, but I also think such polls are rather pointless anyway. Though here on AS, intelligent discussion is more frequent than most other anime communities, which is why I still frequent it. So maybe this will go somewhere interesting, but since it's a pretty black and white question, I doubt it will.
I could cite all sorts of examples of moronic behaviour that happens now that didn't used to, but there really isn't much point. Every one of my examples could be countered with good, serious discussion, though it is easier to find mud than it is to discover gold just about anywhere, I like to think the intelligent, serious and interesting discussion outweighs the idiocy that is so abundant. I've grown a thick skin over the years, so I can largely ignore the stupids. Though I can also fully understand where you're coming from wanting to abandon largely braindead communities.
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