I'm not sure there is general contempt for RS.
West Front - 754 scenarios in the data base
East Front - 608 scenarios in the data base
Rising Sun - 204 scenarios in the data base
If anything, it tells me that scenarios are what drive the interest.
Which has been my thought all along about the longevity of CS as an "ancient" computer game system.
Though, I find EF more played. That may be due to the mystique of the Russian front and the fact that more PBEM [h2h] scenarios are designed for it.
West Front had a bend toward playing versus the AI. Which came from the earliest of the Talonsoft brain trust.
Rising Sun has both the least amount of scenarios and the least balanced scenarios of all three. And, I agree with Mike's comments on the "style" of RS scenarios. They often are not what players want to play?
Just a thought.
HSL