What did the real fans of 'hardcore' think of this shift? Why was there a need for hardcore to turn into 'post' to reach different audiences, why did punk have to be a friendly enviroment? Maybe economically it was the best decade for the producers and the artists, but what about the people who did not enjoy this shift, hearing their music change into something a 'regular' person can listen to? When a close music subculture changes into something anyone can be part of, it loses it essence.
Mind you, I may be reading and getting it very wrong, it just makes me think of a subculture here in Netherlands called Gabber/Hardcore (not to be confused with punk) which also died like that, the music changed and the producers started appealing to the masses, not to the core. This post also inspired me to make a thread about it.
Nevertheless, really nice informative thread! I liked it!