I used to moderate a forum which was always dead (WWM) and the other moderators always seemed to have a seasonal excuse.
In summer - "Oh, the weather's so nice outside, people are traveling, enjoying their summer vacations..."
In the fall - "The kids are just starting school..."
In winter - "The holidays are coming upon us, people have family visiting..."
In the spring - "People are tending to their yards, doing spring cleaning..."
The truth is, nothing begets nothing, so if there is no new content being generated, this forum will be perpetually devoid of activity. People need to sell stuff, write articles, have discussions, post pictures, etc. We tried generating it ourselves, but it doesn't work without "audience participation " so to speak. I eventually bowed out gracefully, and the few months I was away from this forum I didn't miss it much...I am sorry though, that it has gone so very stagnant!
You have summed it up, with argument though...and decided to participate in the collapse from your own statements. Forums sway...groups that associate or click...things change and they move on. The neglect is from the participants....Facebook has been around for many years. Facebook Groups certainly have taken the place of forums, in a way, and FB in general certainly changed the internet, but it isn't stopping other forums from thriving and growing. Cichlid-forum and Planted Tank are two that come to mind. This forum just feels neglected to me. I guess I don't have a right to complain, since I'm not going to do much other than casually participate , but it needs more than just routine maintenance, and that's all I really see getting done. There comes a point of diminishing returns, however, so I completely understand just letting things go...maybe it's time to put AC to bed.
while that might be true, the burden of damage control and repair ALWAYS falls on the admins/CEOs/managment/owners/etc..The neglect is from the participants....