Folks generally look back at whenever the peak of their activity was as the golden age. If you look past the individual to the collection, if you look at what is in the game and what you can do here, the golden age really is now. 
I saved something very nice that Blue Baron wrote about AW. I won't post it all here, but the last part is key:
"Thus, there is only one golden age - the time when YOU first learned the
game, and played it for long hours every day or every week. Each of us has
his own good old days. And for each, they were just as good.
And for the so-called veteran who complains to me how my latest release
killed the game he loved, I can say, "Yes, and you killed the game I loved.
You and your kind chased away all my buddies seven years ago." In both
cases the accusation is unfair. That's another thing all players from all
eras share: the good old days can never last forever. Enjoy yours while you
have them. Remember them fondly when they're over. In either case you are
experiencing or have experienced something evermore rare in this world."