I do not believe the regularity of the members contributes significantly to this division you perceive. Take this masterpiece of a thread for example, where some of the most regular members in the community vehemently disagreed with one another for nearly 350 posts:
I actually really enjoyed reading through that one; I was somewhat disappointed when a “solution” was announced. 
Not for nothing, but you kind of jumped into this thread assertively disagreeing with other community members on every post you made. I’m not sure what kind of reception you were expecting. 
It seems a little backward to accuse the community of growing hostile, given your tone. “First take the plank out of your own eye,” as they say. 