There was definitely a non mythical time poll, but no clue if it was "official".
Re: game being made for casuals. Yep, sure is. They're targeting casuals because that's where the money is. As a lover of the game, we hates it. As a person with common sense, it makes sense.
Re: mods making the game more difficult. Uh, as someone who is close to the modding community AND as someone who also mods, I will say two things... One, the most popular mods by far are the ones that make the game *easier* and *more* (usually moar gunz). Two, you really can pretty much mod anything if you have the willpower and knowledge. And as a bonus, three, I've yet to see an overhaul mod make the game *easier*, and three point one, the users of *those* mods are feveredly supportive.
So my take away is modding tracks with vanilla. Most people want it easier but those who do want it harder are much more committed to the game/mod.
Kinda gives a double meaning to "casuals". Or it just reinforceds the original meaning. I dunno, I just woke up.