One thing I do want to mention is, I think the real reason for the decline is probably the simple fact that there really isn't a good way to keep new members coming in, while old members will drop off from time to time. I think the retention here is actually pretty amazing compared to other forums I've posted on (for example, the poker forums seem to be filled with a whole new crop of people every year with only a few familiar voices, and the size of that forum is enormous).

I always wished this board could've made a transition into a community that would be able to find and retain like minded individuals rather than being based on the empeg player, but I wouldn't even know how to define our common link except to say "cool, mostly semi-geeky people that are worth listening to".