What caused the decline of EQ as the #1 MMO?

[Alleusion]

I think the release of other games is what caused EQ's decline in the beginning. Than in an attempt to lure people back from those games, SOE devs overcompensated and made the game stupidly easy...mercs anyone?

When I started playing, the world was big. Travel was dangerous and you actually had to earn exp. Your reputation was a big deal and there was a community. Then the world got bigger, but travel became a little easier (Nexus). People hung out and chatted while waiting on ports. Then it got bigger still (PoK)...and bigger...and bigger. With each expansion travel got easier and easier. Guild halls were introduced and people would hang out in there...and it got quiet. Unless you sat around in the guild lobby or PoK, there was little chatter. People wrapped themselves up in their guild and became suspiscious of newcomers. The game wasn't social anymore.