Classic WoW shown that it’s the players, not the game. People were just as sweaty, non-inclusive, and try hard as they are on retail.
My fondest memory of classic is when everyone lined up to wait their turn to kill a quest mob. That have me hope. I lost hope when, as a warrior tank, I couldn’t put together a group for anything in Kalimdor (as Alliance) because it was more efficient to grind SM.