eHow actually improved in the rankings. eHow is usually decent enough relative to the internet. Search for how to change your car's oil and you can find a helpful article that includes video from eHow, for example.

I know there is loads of crap out there, but I'm a bit confused by the overall attitude towards user written articles. It seems like a baby with the bathwater approach.

The same people most against articles sites, don't seem to have a problem with search results full of crappy youtube vids, yahoo answers, amazon and other shopping, twitter gibberish, and whatever else that isn't exactly Pulitzer Prize winning content.