Nothing wrong with gut feelings... IMHO, It helps though to preface statements like "Most people here" with IMHO.

Perhaps "most people here" take exception to statements made by others regarding how they feel or what they think.

As far as the need for newbie centric forums or services; IMHO the drop off may have more to do with the release of Diablo than anything else.

When the N800 first dropped the as shipped OS (2007SE 3.2007.08 I believe) left a lot to be desired. That coupled with a new device, and for some a new environment (Linux), plus the relatively high cost of ownership, created a lot of confusion and frustration among new users.
It did for me at least, but even so most members here treated me well and went out of there way to walk me through some of the most basic tasks.

BTW: Are there that many new users being created now... so many months into the release cycle?
With an updated OS and so many more posts to search for answers, it pro'ly doesn't take as much time to get up to speed.