[intended]

True - not everyone bought from them though. In your case, it sounds like you are talking about PVP more than PVE progression. D2 may have had hacks/issues/farmers - but it was more fun.

The AH here though assumes that having to buy from chinese gold farmers was an issue which everyone faced, and now makes the AH an issue for everyone to face.

People may complain about Craiglist or a Bloomberg terminal, but at the end of the day, they still use and love them. Similarly people may complain about D2, but they still loved it.