Is it real, or is it my imagination?

[nsherry61]

It seems to me like WhiteBlaze forums have become significantly less active recently when I would have expected Covid followed by spring to bring on more people spending more time thinking and typing about their backpacking passions. AT logistics and information threads seem to be maintaining activity, while general community questions, thoughts, and banter seems to have become dramatically reduced.

1) Is my perception of a decrease in general activity real?
2) If it is real, why?

- I don't perceive a significant change in backpacking as a sport or pastime.
- Any thoughts on why backpackers, as a group, would start spending less time on forums than in the past.
- Has our on-line community started moving its focus to other forums or community activities? If so, which ones and why?
- Have a few critical posters moved onto other things, so the community as a whole is less active?
- Are many of the past active members getting old and tired of talking about the same old stuff, and somehow we aren't attracting new participants? Can we come up with new and still interesting alternative topics?

Anyway, I thought I'd offer up a topic that might be of interest beyond AT logistics.
Feedback is certainly welcome and requested.

Hike on!