Looking at it compared to what really had me last time was the competitiveness of the lower divisions. Most of div 3 was full of active managers and the Aus community was really active in PL’s and forums. Definitely felt a drop off around the time i left. Can’t comment on how it is now obviously as i have only just dipped back in. But i hope it is similar.
Can confirm Div III is nowhere near as competitive as back in season 25 or so. I failed to promote with a 520k roster from III.6 back then, ruining my finances for a few seasons.
Now you could probably promote to ABBL with the same roster (unconfirmed)
Forums are definitely less active. I used to do a lot of write-ups for fishbowl PL and U21, but now i'm sure like myself, we're all a lot older and have some form of responsibilities aka children >.>