Avira,
I am saying the fact that so many people left the community is, in some part, the hesaron of the community itself.
People were looking and trying different approaches. You can’t blame Mendelsohn for trying, and you can’t blame those who opposed him for trying. But I am sure there were people then also who were sitting and criticizing everyone who tried to find solutions. Maybe some became Reform, etc because of the lack of effort and not because some efforts were not successful.