You ditched so the thread, as it was a non-news site, became the catch-all point of bored FReepers sharing Friday night BS. An online community as large as this has grown can not stay all serious all the time. Note that the comments directed at you were rather half hearted or so over-the-top they were obviously "piling on". Just healthy venting and nothing personal.
It seems you've been away a while. Not only do formats change but the way people adapt to them does as well. All you can do is lie low and use the Private Reply option to communicate with those you know to catch up.
It's not as if we were Democrats or someth...no, there isn't much worse.