I've sort of followed this debate and would like to contribute -other than in a silly way. Why I bother I dunno.
I noticed a sharp decline in traffic on this site too. And when? Right around the time when a certain person started wearing a certain T. shirt. Suddenly, everyone vaguely interesting, and a few great people, just upped and left. They just left. And I don't think they ever post anymore, even anonymously?
They didn't just give up on this site. Some tried AYNIM for a while, they dropped the surface of the virtual earth.
They didn't just give up on websites, they gave up on Morrissey himself.
That's true even on some foreign websites, on which the administrator, who is far from being banned from Morrissey gigs, can never be bothered enough to post any kind of info or gig account himself to keep his site alive.
So, just like climate change, I'd say it's an accelerating phenomenon.
As far as "the sense of community" is concerned, well, I've been on Solo since the late nineties, with different usernames. I never really felt this was a community. This site has always had "characters" that were louder and more visible than others. They came and went. This never gave birth to a "community", just little clusters of like-minded people at times, taking over threads. I did that myself when a few nutty people were around, and we often turned the most serious topics into the Silly Olympics. That spirit is still alive within a few very naughty posters here
I remember a particular thread someone started that was called "say something nice about someone on Solo." Well I checked every page of it and nobody ever said anything nice about me.
So I thought nobody would mind if I became anonymous
Besides, I had another reason. Yes, I won't hide it, I wanted to confuse some people. Be less immediately identifiable. Why I did is really none of your business (lol) but if you've ever paid enough attention to me when I was alive and not anonymous, you may have an idea why.
Now, if there's some way of identifying me again, I will be deprived of that choice and probably won't post much anymore.
I think that will suit plenty of people fine, including people who think Solo (and himself) are f***ed.
I just hope there'll always be funny or cute pics of pets to look at, and that the people who make me laugh continue posting even after Morrissey dies.
Also, I think I've contributed plenty to this site in my more energetic days, and, although everyone is entitled to their opinion, they might want to consider that we anonymouses are people, too.
Lastly, I want to thank David again. Not for keeping this site alive no matter what, but for having the guts to put up with all the shit he's been through. Once again I compare him with other site administrators who are nothing but touchy immature selfish tards who rarely engage positively with their users. On the other end of the spectrum we have mild-mannered administrators with a traffic of about 30 people on their site... (plus I get a virus alert everytime I try to check it, which makes me lol.)
So I for one think David is a very special and patient guy.
the end.