[Elentari]

And in my fave topic- pointed ears- comes yet another babbling.

Have the elves become soft along the ages?

Hmmmm...

Most of the hot-headed noldorin lords were dead. After the long and taxing war against Melkor, their numbers were greatly diminished. Entire realms were slaughtered, by Melkor, by new kinslayings...

In the third age we see a handful of elves, isolated in their dwellings. Apart from Lindon and Imladris, these dwellings are not very open to foreigners, even among their own kin (i.e., Haldir's words when greeting the fellowship on the borders).

So what do you think? Were they just making space for the race of men to contribute a tid more with the freedom of Endor or what?

[Vilwarin]

If you get so old, there surely is some kind of mental live-wearyness coming with time.
(This is why the left Middle-Earth for Valinor)
I would not call them soft.
Apart from that, towards the end of the third age the outside world grew more and more dangerous and they had become wary.
At this time the elves left in Middle-Earth were just a minority and had realized that for many the end of their stay was approaching.

[MaglorRedeemed]