Yep. But if it hasn't, and if it wasn't for bass forums, I wouldn't know about flats - I mean about good flats, not those unplayable Guild-branded heavy-gauge 050 flats that was the only string set you could buy in 1975 where I lived, and all I used until my Dad came back from London with 040 Roto Swing Bass rounds.
True. Good information on flats was hard to come by before bass forums, and the interest in flats and tapewounds has caused more companies to offer more choices. I'd say almost all of us are better off because of the knowledge shared on bass forums, whether it's about gear, players or whatever. But some of the cult-like behavior and bandwagon-jumping makes me shake my head.
Maybe preferences are changing but nobody is going to convince me to like flats more than rounds. Flats are okay, but I'm puzzled at the current fascination with them, too.
As for playing with a pick, I guess that's what made Carol Kaye and Paul McCartney so punk rock.
Joe Osborn, Rick Danko, Bill Wyman, Chas Chandler, Bruce Foxton, Chris Squire, Berry Oakley, Entwistle (in studio and sometimes live) and at least 30 more I could name without thinking about it too much... not a punk rocker among them.