Anyway without the so called 'noobs', WormNET would be even more desert, at least they keep the server active and it shows there is still an interest in the game. Don't forget that everyone was a noob before becoming a top player. When I came back in december 2020 I hoped WormNET was still a thing, and when I came back I still remembered how to play shopper, how to do some stuff and eventually decided to stay there and even met some people.
I am not saying that "now is better than before", but let's not forget that keeping a server alive costs money, and every newbie that comes even to play with other friends newbie still shows activity. Any of us can still show them how many things you can do with this game and, on a long run, they could become more interested, as I became when I came here for the first time ever (and in the past, for newbies it was even tougher).
I instead like the fact that the community is not so big but not so small either. I admire the old players (still around or not) who were so talented and I wish I could become like some of them, and I like enthusiastic newcomers that came for an occasional game and had become an active member of the community