Now... that's a difficult question to answer. It's not clear cut, at least it is not for me.

Eve best days... in the past? Yes, for the way I looked at the game, for the way the game looked, the way it felt. No, because, especially before alphas, eve was a game for few.

Eve best days... in the future? Yes, depending on the way they head, they could well be there. No, depending on the way they head, the downfall could be just ahead.

Neither? Also yes, some things never changed and will never change. Quoting a famous film "Everything must change for everything to remain the same".

I think that depends greatly on the individual. If you have the time and drive to get deep into the game. If you have the motivation to find the group that just clicks with you and feel happy hanging out with or find the activities you like and "get gud" at. Creativity on a personal level, if you will.

With factors like that on the individual level, Eve always had and still has the potential to create the unique memories one will harbor for a livetime.

Honestly CCP could start stealing some working cherries from other games. It's 2023 you don't need to be ashamed to copy something if its approved.

This doesn't lift you from the requirement to still experiment with new stuff :P

Here's why I think people believe that the best days are in the past.

Eve is a framework. It's a structure. It's a set of tools and rules within which the pilots operate. Sure, there's lore and narrative, but the big stories of the past have been created by the players. The large wars, the null sec dominance, the ganking and war deccing alliances, the crazy moves by players - these are player-driven events which were permitted by the universe CCP gave us.

We don't reminisce about the inferior graphics, the slower nodes, the smaller variety of ships, weapons and space. We reminisce about the events and tales that we created in New Eden. The friends we made and enemies we fought. Space lost and injectors looted.

We don't have those stories yet for the future. We may have technical aspirations and plans for story arcs, and they will be awesome. But the experiences that go down to your soul are yet to be. It's just about the potential, and that doesn't compare to events that you lived through.

It's the difference between trying to persuade someone of the greatness to come, and being able to sit back and say "look what we did". We're a bunch of romantics.

In answer to your question, I'd say that Eve's best days aren't in the past or the present. I'd say that it's always today. You never know what's going to happen, and that's what makes it exciting.