I probably won't have a popular opinion here but it is how I feel none the less.

I played CS a lot when it was first released as a mod for Half-life. I put hundreds of hours into both pub matches and matches with my friends in private servers. I stopped playing it at about the time that it was about to make the move to a retail product

Counter-strike as a franchise is something of a time capsule. It is a example of a late 90's shooter frozen in time that never really changes and that is probably what makes it both novel for the average gamer and important for the competitive scene that has formed around it (and taken control of it in a lot of ways).

Because a e-sports style competitive scene has formed around Counter-strike, it puts Valve in a difficult position because they can't really change anything without facing harsh resistance from the veteran players. Even minor visual changes are met with extreme criticism because they may upset the carefully cultivated meta.

It was not always like this. When I was playing, the idea of e-sports level competitive play was only just starting to manifest and thus it was more rare to find the ultra-competitive players who get wrapped up in memorizing spread patterns, researching dominant strategies and reading up on the established meta. A lot of players back then were just there because it was fun to play and had a huge playerbase (thus meaning that servers were always reasonably available).

Playing Counter-strike back then was not the commitment that it can be now. The overall behavior of the playerbase was different. You may have gotten the usual smack talk during a match but you did not have people telling you to do things exactly this certain way in order for the whole thing to play out like a E-sports match either (at least not in any great number).

Playing Counter-strike now is essentially a test to see how much you like getting pub-stomped by uber-experienced and ultra-competitive players. It is not a overly welcoming place for new players (though not everyone is negative to new players and some will help you out) and has a culture all of it's own. This culture will either be really cool to you or annoying as hell, there is not much room for anything in between.

If you want a competitive gaming experience that is largely shaped by the most competitive (and vocal) players. Counter-strike is for you. If you want something more like a typical modern shooter or something that is more casual, It's not the best place to start.

In the end, this is just a opinion, I understand that Counter-strike is going to be a different experience for different people. I know that I am probably a bit old and thus missed the competitive level gaming boat by a few years but that does not change the fact that I have played (and own) Counter-strike: Global offensive and the culture that has formed around that game is not something I can really get into. Your mileage (of course) may very.