When at the Mir there was a sort of emphasis on not speaking lashon hara [slander]. I noticed this in a few ways. One was that right after the morning prayers there were people that had a small session in learning two laws per day in the book about the laws of slander [Hafez Haim]. Also I noticed a general emphasis on this particular law in the daily conduct of most people pus the roshei yeshiva. 

There was another specific emphasis on laws about monetary matters.

And these two points were in addition to the general atmosphere of emphasis on learning Torah.

So looking back on that period I think it is clear why I and so many others look back on our time at the Mir as a golden age.