I've played a bit of Spring, a friend of mine was a big fan of it. Yes the community has gone downhill across the board, hence why only the dregs are left to play spring. I don't much like it, the balance and feel of it are not yet polished enough to make it fun. It's amazing what SJ has done with it though, he's just super.
I wouldn't mind giving someone a game of TA sometime though
I'm very very rusty at it.