It isn't 2005 anymore

WoW Classic may be pretty much the same game that we were playing 15 years ago, but no one I've met seems to be playing it the same way. For one thing many blue items dropping in end-game dungeons are looked on with disdain - the class "tier 0" set items are a collectable curiosity, but with a few exceptions you wouldn't expect to see these actually in use. It used to be that if a warrior tank didn't use a shield at all times then they didn't know what they were doing, while now furyprot is a thing. And so on.

The things that seem to have changed are information and attitude. Websites like Elitist Jerks and now Icy Veins have made it commonplace to know what gear is best for your class and role, and players now seek this out. I imagine that the game's designers didn't really know what was a good and what was a great item, and I'm sure they expected players in Upper Blackrock Spire to think "oh, that's interesting, Jed Runewatcher is here" (or not know that was unusual), not to have members of a group reset the instance until they found one where he'd spawned.

Or maybe the old distinction between hardcore / raiders and casuals meant that this behaviour was there, but 15 years ago I was never aware of it.

Either way, much seems to have changed.