Yes, I guess so.
Maybe its a sign of my age. I used to do electronics as a teenager in the late 70's and then you just followed a design in 'Practical Electronics' etc. I certainly did't think about straying from the design. Then I went to uni and learnt how to do it properly only to go and work in software for 20 years!
I come back to it now for fun and find people ready to just give it a try! Bend the electronics to their will, mod things anyway they like.
Its great to see really. The 'fearless - if it breaks it breaks' attitude.
Perhaps I was just a very cautious teenager.