Stephen H <(Address removed)> said:

The truth is that UK-Dance was declining even before it moved to the new site. The number of contributors had already dropped hugely and the page views were on a steady downward trend.

The biggest reason is simply that people grew up. UKD was always more about community and the whole dance culture rather than just the music, so it was inevitable that as everyone's lives changed they would participate less. The strength of community that made it so important to its members was also something that put off new people - it can feel like you're intruding in someone else's party. And each new generation always avoids the clubs the older people made their own.

Coupled to this has been Facebook and Twitter taking the place of traditional web communities - when UKD moved into being more about personal friendships it just couldn't compete with sites that made those relationships their main focus. Network effects mean the winner takes all and as the web has gone mainstream people just aren't so willing to move outside their comfort zone.

These two are I think the biggest factors by far. However, I know the (unavoidably) sudden move to new software didn't help: the need to re-register was a barrier to people who then decided that Facebook was enough for them now and a number of deficiencies in the user interface lost some of those who did get that far. If there had been a thousand active users it wouldn't have mattered so much, but with so few remaining at the time of the move it had a bigger impact than I anticipated. I'd hoped that new features, like embedding videos, might make up for it and re-energise things but they didn't.

Since then there have been lots of improvements to the interface and I've tried to make the path to the activities that people do most often as simple and easy as possible. On the old site it was two clicks to go from home page to the individual message index and it still is, and a software update this month will make navigation to sub-level pages easier. People complained about the features of the old UKD site too and some of the features it now has, like the improved thread index, are a result of that feedback.

I've explained my reasons for temporary bans before so I won't go into that fully, but a) they are only something I have done as a very last resort after other avenues failed, b) they were in response to significant numbers of people leaving the site citing the individuals concerned, and c) they have only ever been temporary. If people don't treat others with the respect they deserve then there has to be a final sanction against that behaviour.

What happens to UKD is very much up to all you. If you think it still has a place then I'm happy to let it go on running. If you have ideas for making it more relevant or easier to use or so it better fits into the other services you use then tell me. Or if you think after eighteen years it would be kinder to pull the plug then I'll do that.