[Code Monkey]

The issues raised here have nothing to do with vBulletin.org. The changes you see are a reflection of the change in the status of PHP itself. All of these issues effect every single PHP oriented site that exists. Not just this one.

PHP is no longer a grass roots scripting language. It is now mainstream. It once attracted a defined group of tinkerer's and those that like to live on the cutting edge. It now attracts everyone. Deal with it. If you like that close knit feeling that used to exist here, at Sitepoint, or all the other places that are no longer as fun and helpful as they used to be, then you need to move on to the next big thing. Try Python or Ruby on Rails for that coding community feel. Otherwise, get used to the general populous and all that comes with it.