I'm not going to argue if it's better or worse, just a huge change in philosophy that it took me some time to put into words. You can agree or disagree. Also I apologize if this has been stated by other ppl and I never saw it.

But I realized how much the humor is derived by characters being pathetic in the later seasons or from some schadenfreude vs the older seasons.

The biggest example as everyone knows is Moe. Who went from a grungy bartender and criminal into a constant state of suicidal depression. But there are numerous other examples I'm realizing as well.

Skinner was always too attached to his mother but over the years they dropped the strong self assertion of being a solder in Vietnam to just a pathetic man child. You take the episode where he dates Patty and the whole conceit is that he's the only "real man" in town, and now he's just pathetic and acts like a whimpering kid with his mom who controls his life. The way I'd put it is the old Skinner you'd believe his mother lived in his house, now he most certainly lives in her house.

Marge is another example I feel, as she was a doting mother with a generally clueless husband, but Homer did try to be a decent dad and husband back in the day. He wasn't constantly doing insanely awful things and she just quietly taking it or forgiving him for the slightest apology. Now he's basically Peter Griffen and it makes Marge look really sad and even pathetic to be staying with him for how little he seems to try. So many storylines become about her general ennui because of it.

Lisa as well went from generally self assured braniac who had some friends to pathetically grasping to any semblance of fitting in or popularity she can. Yah she also did that occasionally in the older episodes and straw manned a bit but now it's become one of her main storyline beats and is pretty pathetic in how much she wants people to like her and it's usually the joke.

Or how a number of storyline are about Gil, whose entire character is that he's pathetic. He became a more prominent character in the pathetic age of the Simpsons writing.

Smaller mentions are: The main Apu jokes are his home life being terrible, Mr Burns is more delusional and decrepid old man than a ruthless billionaire tyrant, Krusty being a semi washed up entertainer but still pretty good at his job to every joke being about how blatantly awful and lazy he is, Cheif Wiggum's being a parody of small town cops to now entire focus on his dangerous obesity and everyone thinking he's an idiot, Reverend Lovejoy from standard kind of boring preacher to awful at his job, and even Milhouse went from Bart's underling but still best friend to generally being abused by Bart.

Like I said I'm not here to argue this is "worse" (though imo it is and I will esp fast forward any Moe is sad episodes) but that it's just a clear difference in where the humor lies now. The jokes were less derived from the misery the characters faced or caused.

Maybe it even makes sense for a lot of the characters natural progression, doesn't mean I like it lol.