I'm frustrated with forum participation - and not just here. It seems as though the level of people coming into these forums and actually hanging around, whether it's automobile oriented or what ever your favorite hobby has peaked and is actually dipped. I wander over to the HAMB occasionally and many of their posts have become not much more then chat room conversations with little new/fresh information. I'm a regular at Hotrodders.com - and while I enjoy many of the lounge topics, am really no longer impressed with the thousandth person asking what camshaft his 350 Chevy should run or which heads. Dammit use the Search function. Heck, I've even gotten to the point where I ask/post an occasional thread that I know the answer, though not here, just to move people to do some thinking. There are a bunch of talented people available here and elsewhere - it just seems that the 'spark' has gone. I've gone to the Ford Muscle Forum and they too seem to be running in slow motion. A couple others - withering with virtually no new posts.

I understand that the format here has changed and why Brent felt it was necessary. While I'm not overjoyed with the format, have learned to work with it even with the usual 'No Packets to Send' showing up on a regular basis. I want to stay here, but somehow it has to grow and new faces made welcome - which I believe we do pretty well compared to other sites. Folks register, make a few posts and disappear. Look at the member's list and there are hundreds if not thousands who registered and made an initial post, never to return. Looking at the Where has Ken Thurm gone thread is just one more indicator that forums are slowing and why.

Comments folks (including flames belching)!!