Every last community that I've been a part of that has fallen into disrepair, there's always been a commercial aspect behind it. It's the little no-name guys that seem to keep chugging along until the people that run them get bored and close them down. The thing is, they might have changed a bit here and there over the years, but they never jumped the shark. It's enough to make you think for a minute.
I second this. It feels like the Internet is, to investors right now, nothing much than a farm; websites are calves. A calf grows big enough, it becomes a money cow. And a money cow that can't produce enough money because it's not attractive enough is either... rectified, or put down and the meat sold.
Thanks for the link - it is entirely relevant (and it provided me a place to share an idea) and interesting. I most certainly hope that the general feeling that I understand from this thread will keep on going... Hubski could definitely break the mold with hosts like that.