Yeah, I was around then; buying those records, going to those clubs and in many cases partying with those DJs. But that was the end of “Techno” as a synonym for “electronic music. By then there was already numerous sub genres and many of them because music styles in their own right (like rock, metal, blues are all guitar music) with people identifying themselves as trance, house, hardcore et al clubbers rather than techno.
My comment was in regard to how the GP suggested that techno has since become another umbrella term again now. Or maybe I misunderstood their post?
I would guess in the '90s, when there was a lot more crossover between electronic music and other genres. Rock and hiphop oriented stuff like the Prodigy and Chemical Brothers were topping the dance charts, and other more conventional techno like Aphex Twin and Underworld were getting decent media coverage as well.
Plus movie soundtracks at the time tended to include a lot of techno. Trainspotting, Pi, Hackers, The Jackal, The Saint....discovered a lot of artists thanks to these.