I am only briefly re-entering to make a small point.
One of the issues that I address, in passing, in the very verbose essay that kicked this off is that we should be careful when it comes to thinking that our own personal preferences are the same as "the community" or even large groups of it.
In addition, we should probably avoid trying to cast aspersions on designers by assuming that we can read their minds.
In my opinion, I think that the following two things are true-
1. The people at WoTC that make D&D are, in fact, quite passionate about D&D. Any time I have seen them speak about D&D, or otherwise engage on the topic, their passion shines through. Of course, part of being a designer for a successful commercial product is that you aren't just designing for your own feels and vibes, but you also have to design for the product's market, and within other constraints (cost/benefit, corporate standards and goals, the "brand" and so on). In other words, you aren't given free reign to do whatever you want. But this doesn't mean you aren't passionate or creative. It's easier, in many ways, to design whatever you want without worrying about things like "sales" or "commercial appeal" or "will people think I have a bizarre fetish for flamingoes" than to have to channel your vision within constraints.
2. The idea that 5e, and its design, doesn't relate to a "younger audience" is belied by the demographics and popularity of 5e. It doesn't appeal to all people at all times, because no product does, but it clearly appeals to a lot of young people. 33% of players are GenZ (1997-2012) according to WoTC in 2023*, and the majority of 5e players never played a prior version.
3. Given the popularity of 5e, and the fact that one of the common complaints we see here (or, at least, a refrain from common complainers?) is that people need to get support for their own playing style within 5e because ... they are unable to find people that will play other games ... I think that it is somewhat bizarre to call 5e "shelfware." It certainly seems to be getting more use than many other TTRPGs.
In summary- you don't have to like 5e (or 5e24). You are welcome to advocate for the stuff you like! But we (and I mean we, all of us) should probably think a little bit harder before we try and confuse our own preferences for what D&D needs to do because it's what the community demands.
All that said ... the community demands that we kill off the bard, because young people hate bards. You can't argue with the truth, amirite?
*I don't think WoTC tracks any younger, but I am welcome to correction.
