I don't think fandom was necessarily smaller (in terms of volume) 15 or 20 years ago. I was just younger and had much more spare time and willingness to compromise. And there was also a lot of... trial and error? I remember I holed myself up for two days and read 100-150 fics and there was usually at least 20 or so that I liked, but that also meant I spent a lot of time reading fic I didn't enjoy. I just don't have the patience and energy for that anymore. (And I agree with the other coalie that tagging is a part of it, as in it helps me make a preselection I couldn't make on the old Yuletide archive.)
Re: Losing Yuletide
I don't think fandom was necessarily smaller (in terms of volume) 15 or 20 years ago. I was just younger and had much more spare time and willingness to compromise. And there was also a lot of... trial and error? I remember I holed myself up for two days and read 100-150 fics and there was usually at least 20 or so that I liked, but that also meant I spent a lot of time reading fic I didn't enjoy. I just don't have the patience and energy for that anymore. (And I agree with the other coalie that tagging is a part of it, as in it helps me make a preselection I couldn't make on the old Yuletide archive.)