The board has been here since around 2005 and there was one before that at the old Vegsource website.
https://web.archive.org/web/20000815070 ... mcdougall/There were two main things that happened that changed the activity level here.
First, the addition of a forum on politics and one on religion. Like with most political and religious discussions, there were some vicious posts and many fights broke out even among long term members, especially during the last 2 elections. Many wanted to leave the forums up but eventually we shut them down. Sadly, we lost many regulars, old timers and star McDougallers during that period.
Second, a similar thing happened around the time of the WFPB diet wars (which Dr McDougall wrote a newsletter about) and again, huge long threads and fights over the various PB doctors.
Also, over time, with the advent of social media, and especially FB and FB groups, people drifted from here to there. Many of the regulars are now posting in (and/or running) FB groups where they get to be the "expert," However, as you may know, there are issues with the advice and recommendations that are given out there and the way the groups are run. We receive many complaints. They even come here and post for us to settle their debates/disputes.
Truth is, discussion boards like these are like dinosaurs but still exist. Many of us (like me) prefer this format instead of the never ending scrolling timeline (FB), or unsearchable videos, where everything seems to disappear into history. Some one called it “pages” vs “feed.” I prefer organized pages vs an endless feed. You can't really have ongoing thorough discussions with ongoing follow ups on a topic with those (or watching you tube videos) as you do here. I remember in the 70’s there was a big push against commercial TV due to the relentless adds. Well, what goes on at YouTube (and others video sites) is so overwhelming with ads, way more then commercial tv could ever dream of.
I am on (and moderate) a few other discussion boards which have gone through similar changes over time. Several were more active than this one and now get a few posts a week too. Some closed up shop.
And yes, people just get burned out and stop showing up.
And, when new people look for info, there used to be a few choices, now there are 1000's (though not all credible).
There are also poachers, those who visit other sites to draw people to their sites to build their own following
You might be surprised at how many still come here each day to search topics (even other WFBP docs), link to them and use this as a resource, without ever logging in or posting. This is an incredible resource.
Here is a former discussion on this issue
https://www.drmcdougallforums.com/viewt ... 14&t=57657There is an old saying, if you want a friend, be a friend. Well, if you want to see the board be more active, then be more active on the board.
In Health
Jeff