I was there for one month before coming here nearly five years ago. It was in pretty bad shape then, messy and angry and polarized. I know it had some loyal followers, though, and quite a few of them stayed on even after migrating here.
Google shut down Google Answers abruptly, too, in 2006. That community was thriving, to all appearances, and wasn’t plagued by trolls or internal warfare. It was just a matter of Google’s deciding to end some experiments and support others, as I understood it, and that must have been a less profitable one.
I can’t believe Amazon ever needed Askville very much.
ETA: Welcome, Askville refugees. I’m sorry you’ve lost your community. There’s lots of information around here to help you get oriented and settle in. Nest wishyes.