I also got into programming like this. I even remember working with whitefang, the creator of whitescape, to try and build a 377 server when everyone was on 317. I don't remember if that attempt ever got anywhere though.

I think what you're describing with all the code bases is why I lost interest. It felt like everyone was just doing their own thing without any collaboration. Unlike say World of Warcraft servers where everyone used MaNGOS. I hope it's better now