It has been more than a few years since the Guitartricks the op mentions existed. There was a core group of members who were pretty close, friends even. Guys and gals who did things like send deer jerky to each other or even got married. For me that was the high point of the forum as a community and something that will likely never happen again.

That's ok because Jon realized that while we were having a lot of fun most of it was inappropriate for his target audience. The site was attracting more older users and kids whose parents might not like the things that were going on at the time. Jon made a decision based on what was best for his consumer base. I can respect that and others who were there and miss that time should to. As for the lessons yes they are geared towards beginners and I'm sure that is a business decision as well. Advanced experienced players don't come to the Internet for lessons. Beginners do. Simple as that. That said there are still high difficulty lessons to be had if you seek them out.

So the Golden Era of the forum may have passed but the site has plenty to offer those who want to learn and that is all that really matters.