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Quantum: From the start of the board, people have always come and gone. Some folks leave because they're angry, and leave with a great show of shaking the dust of this board from their virtual shoes: in the early days, we had a lot of affronted walk-outs because the board failed to meet some standard of "revolutionary" orthodoxy. Some folks leave because they move house, or change jobs, and simply don't have the 'net access or free time they'd need to keep up. Some folks go to other message boards. Some folks get off to a bad start, are unable to rectify it, and sort of quietly fade away.
And some longtime posters take self-initiated sabbaticals, for various reasons—because our meatspace lives need tending-to, because the political or intellectual climate of the board has become temporarily off-putting, or simply because we're bored or tired, and need to recharge our batteries.
I've taken several hiatuses (hiati?) from posting—six weeks at a time, generally, which seems like a good stretch—and for various of the reasons listed above. Sometimes I've lurked and kept up with the general flow of conversation, sometimes I've made a clean break.
And I've definitely gone through periods when I've posted more and less. I think I'm at a good, sustainable level now, and have been for some time: posting limits have made me far more aware of how often I post, and have (I think) raised the level of my discourse a little. |
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As long as you have a turnover of new peeps to re-enliven the place regularly and keep all you jaded cynics upbeat, it'll prosper. I'm still in the evangelical phase, inviting all the nice people I meet to the board, extolling it's virtues and giving it metaphysical huggles. Hail to the 'lith, and hir message board! (and to Tom, whom until recently I suspected was a mythical figure like Santa)