As my time on Neopets progressed, I too noticed the charitable people slowly fading into the shadows, in fear of being taken advantage of and losing their accounts. The game simply became more competitive, with more items and competitions. This made people greedy, then needy, and that progressed into ruder and ruder people amongst the Neoboards and other places.
I tend to avoid people alltogether on Neopets. Sure, I get on the Neoboards once in a while to laugh a bit, but otherwise I play games and stay to myself. Less trouble that way.
However, once in a while I do come across a nice person. On my birthday this year, a completely random person who I had never spoken to before had come across a story of mine in the Neopian Times wished me a happy birthday. I found it very nice.