>>410860986
Yo that's exactly when I joined!
Can't speak for 2017, but early 2018 was pretty damn comfy. I think for a bit we had a golden age before the normies joined. And I say this a lot, but the fact that people can clone and favorite avatars has shifted the culture of public instances quite a bit. It took away a lot of interesting conversation topics, because most people didn't actually make their avatar.
I think a part of it is just that things felt new and exciting back then. We're used to the game by now and know its ins and outs.