Well, we have a pretty large amount of participants for Sugar & Spice and had a really great discussion going on in the sign-up post, so I don't know if it's fair to say that people have to be prodded with pitchforks to participate or that they're not putting the effort in. We also still have at least a few people a week joining the comm, which is really heartening.

I think it's a testament to how loved this community is that people express their frustrations about it not being the same as it used to be, but I don't think it's anyone's fault that things are slow lately. The whole DA fandom is slow right now as far as I can tell. People don't post as much as they used to and no one gets as many comments as they used to. That's how it is when nothing new (e.g. a new version of a game or a DLC coming out) happens in a fandom. Harry Potter, for example, has been exceptionally quiet since Part 2 of Deathly Hallows came out on DVD.

The bottom line on this issue for me is that this place is supposed to be fun, and I don't want anyone to be made to feel guilty for not participating if they're busy or just want to do something else for a while (like I did). Guilt is only going to make them want to participate less.