"forced to evolve" — yes, that's what entrepreneurship is all about! Those who stay well-informed, current, and adaptable will do just fine. A century or so ago, those who stubbornly chose to continue manufacturing buggy whips after automobiles were discovered ended up out of business.
I think that pretty much spells it out. BTW, that thread the OP is referring to does indicate certain verbage being removed, but it does NOT add any verbage prohibiting the inclusion of a site into a directory. Directories are not going to die.
We're seeing a shake out in the directory industry which will be good for all (most of) the serious directory owners. The get rich quick crowd will probably find some other scam once word gets out that "you can't make money running a directory". So the directory industry won't die...it'll just get a lot smaller...and better.