Honestly, is there really so much difference between pre 2000 and say, 2003s like myself? It is like the difference in ages between teenagers vs. retirees - important for the former, largely irrelevant for the latter.

Furthermore, I think it is safe to say we are all in at least the 2nd new era since that period, which in turn was at least 2 new eras from the 1970s/1980s commercial aviation explosion.
I think early FT membership is simply a level of nerdiness combined with a requisite of moderate to high level of travel in the late 1990s/early 2000s.