I guess that we have all noticed over the past few years that the activity on our favourite forums has declined?
Why so, we ask?
Here are a few ideas you might like to discuss; please accept that as this is AO, I will mostly be posting in an AO context:)
1. PEOPLE MOVE ON
If you are now trying to hold down a job and raise a young family, you just don't have the time that you had at High-School & College. Also, a family is just that.....you cannot seriously expect to live the same lifestyle that you did when you were single?
2. Internet Growth
I can remember 9600 Baud.........dial-up.............nowadays the internet is much larger and diverse, so there is a lot more competition for people's time;and a lot more content to satisfy it?
3. Social Networking
The emergence of social networking sites in recent years has reduced the need for sites such as AO. People can go elsewhere to talk nonsense? The sheer volume and diverse content of these sites competes severely with those who run more specialised content locations.
4. Malware Changes
There is very little mindless, destructive, crap being written these days. The trend is all towards the commercial and criminal. To achieve it's objective it has to be stealthy. The implication of that is that people either know that they are infected and do something about it........or are blissfully unaware, and see no need to come to sites such as AO.
5. ICT Awareness
People are more ICT aware these days. They know how to use a search engine to find answers to their problems. If they don't.........they will know someone (or their kids) who does ;)
[Just look at AO posts from 6-8 years ago, and you will see a lot of malware and hardware problem questions that we just don't get today]
Naturally, I have a lot more to comment on the subject, but I will leave you with those 5 for comments :)