Hunts were popular because they were the best way to grind Myth (less so for Soldiery) and to get Oils and Sands. Now that half of the tome award has been dropped and the weekly restriction from Syrcus Tower has been removed, there's no incentive. It's far, far faster to farm ST for oils and sands and Soldiery (mainly for alt jobs I expect) than do hunts.

I actually loved hunting before they nerfed B class. The creation of hunting LSs was a great example of cooperation. You could hunt as long as you wanted, drop, join again for awhile, etc. Very casual friendly.