Touching on a few topics brought up....
As to activity volume, one of the issues that has come up is that for the most part forums have changed a bit to be more niche topic oriented. Part of it is Facebook pages, part of it is "news" blog sites with feedback comments, part of it, I think, is information overload. "Cool Sci-Fi" is an open discussion forum with a slant towards sci-fi but welcomes any conversation on different topics. That is different from many other forums these days that pick a particular niche, such as a movie, TV show, or author, and limit the conversation to just that subject with perhaps an Off Topic section for everything else. In the early days of the web generalization ruled, now it is the exception. I'm not sure what the answer is.
Another aspect slightly different here at Cool Sci-Fi is that we have a more mature average membership age than some other forums. Me personally, I'm in my 40's and I know that most of the authors that take part in our Books forum are also in that range & older. Not all, mind you, but most. That means there aren't a bunch of posts every day about how mean parents are, what school we go to, or looking for relationship advice. We don't do anything here to discourage those types of posts but we do not go out of our way to encourage them either.
When it comes to people speaking their mind, go for it as long as you can express yourself without having to resort to swearing nor having to 'trash' the person whom you might disagree with. As mentioned above, we are nearly all adults here. Speak your mind but be prepared for others who share different views. If somebody is so thin-skinned that they can't handle somebody posting something that is counter to their own views then, well, maybe being on the internet is not really for them. Along those lines if somebody has suggestions for additional forums for topics that might not already be covered just let us know.
The account that seems to be always connect is @
Watiro -- They are not associated with the site nor have they ever posted in the forums so I have not had a chance to ask them about it. My name is usually seen online as I usually do 'spot checks' when I can from my phone & other devices just to make sure the site is still up & running and no major issues are going on. I might not have time to respond to stuff at the moment but I am usually watching. When I get home or have a few minutes away from work then I'll respond.
Finally, some quick stuff... I only look at "Vampire Vixens" from the comfort of my home laptop
, I have a dog, no cats, I'm not a conspiracy nut, and I have not visited Subgenius in a very long time. Did I miss anything?