This question has been lying dormant in the UK mtb press for a while now and it worries me.
I'm not sure why exactly but it worries me.

People like going on fairground rides because their lives don't contain enough risk. We eat safe food in our safe houses, drive safely, and we want something more risky than eating from the local take-away.
There is also the human 'Fight or Flight' response to stress. We used to either run away or stand and fight when faced with a stressful situation, but by restraining yourself and not having a fight with your boss you are denying yourself the adrenalin fix you need to cope best with the situation.
Now anyone that gives that as the main reason why they ride is taking the piss, but why do people ride?

Because god spoke to them and told them to do it? - Unlikely
It seems that God only tells people to plant bombs nowadays, or at least the only people who reckon they've spoken to God are claiming diminished responsibility.

Because it's fashionable? - Now this gets right on my tits.
Ride for all sorts of reasons - whatever they are, but if you are a human being with a brain then you have the gift of independent thought. So use it to think about what you want, if your friends then take the piss and think you've gone all weird just because you're doing your own thing, then great friends they were.
Society places enough demands on us without you falling victim to fashion as well.

There's all sorts of reasons for it, for the getting away from it all, for the self indulgent sake of it, because I spent so much bloody money on the bike that I may as well ride the godforsaken thing (which is the same as 'to get away from nagging wife / hubby / partner...'), but I ride because I'm a romantic.
I can forget for a moment that the world is dominated by irrational people who scare me with their political motives (or sheer lack of any insight whatsoever), I can forget about that work commitment that's overdue, and I can concentrate on which line to take, how late I can brake, which way that dog is going to go, and just generally watch the countryside and the way the day unfolds around me.

So why does it worry me? Perhaps the magazines don't care about why people ride anymore. Are they just after your money? Or do they actually care that people get the most out of the sport?
By exploring why people ride they may find out what the average mountain biker cares about, they may learn how to write better articles, (or actually start WRITING articles), that are more relevant to more people.

Beginners have different needs from experienced riders and I can't see that the press satisfies either of them. The problem is that beginners don't know enough to complain knowledgeably, and experienced people know it all already (in a language that baffles the beginners).
I was told after a year of mtb'ing that after oiling your chain you have to remove the oil that hasn't soaked in to prevent your drivetrain becoming a sticky mess.
I only learned which tools I need to carry with me the hard way. Who tells people this? Should the magazines? Or should bikes be sold with this information stuck to the top tube? - One for the magazines to campaign over.

I suppose that after 5 years of mtb'ing and after buying a top bike I've moved into an un-pidgeon-hole-able category.
I've got the experience to know what I like, and I don't care much for fashion (surprise!). A magazine might not be able to satisfy what I want any more, but there's a lot of people out there who can benefit from our knowledge gained the hard way.