Just a thought, everyone wants new members on their forums but yet no one engages with said new member? I recently joined a football site and they're desperate for new members but the natives behave in such a way it drives new members away. There is a common thought that if you didn't join a web forum during a particular period of it's development then it is hard to get involved due in part to the increase of trolling, catfishing and general 'naughtiness' a lot of forums are a bit of a clique fest as the members generally circle the wagons in defence than be welcoming fearing everything than being welcoming? Are the days of the web forum being transparent still a thing or are they the domain of the select few?
Just a random thought.