>>96775488
>Is it really just because of Gygax?
It's because of age.
You know that thing where everything is the best when you were 12 years old? Best music, video games, whatever?

For some people, that meant 1e, and any later change to 1e is so evil and vile you need to wage war about it. And, some of those grognards groomed impressionable idiots, and once you get them all together in some echo chamber somewhere, you get rabid tribalism that leaves the rest of the world wondering what the hell is wrong with them.