If Blizzard ran a poll to find out what player opinion was on the various aspects and features of the game created WoW’s “identity”, you would not see a consensus. There would be a lot of different weights as far as which were important and how much. Some of the things you yourself value and think are very important would in fact be irrelevant in the overall big picture.
Correlation is not causation.
Sure, but what’s common between the modes that were reduced in importance or even pruned, is that since they are the team-based ones, and specifically the ones demanding more cooperation and coordination…
This points both to the decline in player population due to a failure of incentivization and innovation, as well as to the likely decision to gear the game design more towards anti-social habits. Perhaps this results from a fear of toxicity, which obviously exists…
But overall it’s a self-feeding cycle of not needing other players and therefore not engaging in content that challenges one to interact, coordinate and learn new social skills and make connections. WoW has supplemented or even outright emulated a social environment for 20 years, and I’m sad to see that decline because it has constituted such a pivotal part of my life, an effect which I think was very well delivered in “The Remarkable Life of Ibelin”, for example.
It’s basically an MMORPG trying to be something it’s not, instead of innovating on its own turf and relying on its own strengths.
Translation: “My opinion is 100% correct, and everybody agrees with me, even the majority who do not. People who buy the game for its entertainment value are playing the game wrong and should be forced to play however I demand them to and with me.”
What. Ever.
No, not at all… If anything, that’s what you’ve been countering with 
and I can’t understand why…
What I’m bringing forth in my analysis is based on the facts
that I had a 250 ppl guild, a full friend list 3 times over the past 12 years, many connections through PvP teams,
and other people who quit, return, and tell me everyone they used to play with quit and that they find no purpose to or satisfaction from playing solo in an MMORPG. These players return for a week or two, and some of them even regret buying the expansion when they figure out that nothing in the design or incentive philosophy or response to feedback has changed.
You don’t have to, and I’d even say you shouldn’t trust what others say without conducting your own research, though… Go outside of the city gates… Back in MoP there used to be dozens of people dueling 24/7. That isn’t the case now.
Or, just take a look at participation charts for different aspects of the game and compare them to previous years 
The trend is rather self-evident, and unfortunate.
Edit: I forgot to add that server migrations were basically forced on many players because of WoD’s design decisions and content pacing, including myself. Let alone the fact that people remain deprived of their earned rewards today when systems changed arbitrarily (e.g. Wardrobe), etc.
This game just needs to coordinate its resources better, for the good of its players, long-term, as befitting a live-service product.
I don’t see how that’s controversial. Anyone who loves it wants it to succeed and fulfil its potential, according to what they HAVE experienced in the past when it was still the leading innovator in the market. We continue to subscribe to and support it because we love it and hope that we can get enjoyment out of it long-term. That’s what loyal consumers and fans usually accomplish for an entertainment IP, without them it wouldn’t have been possible to sustain for so long.
Even if you buy runs and gear, it won’t help you be good at the game.
It might even hurt you, unless you already know all the mechanics of everything and can just jump into high level stuff.
It’s because the WoW = P2W people don’t understand what P2W actually is.
P2W means buying power that lets you steamroll other players and content. Buying a Mythic carry isn’t going to do squat for you in terms of actually beating it.