You are right, and that is why niche, tightly coupled communities will always remain superior in UX and content over the "mainstream/lowest-common-denominator"

You are right, and that is why niche, tightly coupled communities will always remain superior in UX and content over the "mainstream/lowest-common-denominator" ones. Unfortunately, these smaller communities have more churn to them as the bedrock contributors fall out for various reasons, and then its on to next. But at least we now know the cycle of life, and more importantly, what to stay away from.