I think part of the problem is too many forum categories. The two other major forums that I visit- AvCanada and AEForum both only have a "general" message area in which all topics are posted. Here its like "Left Handed C172 float instructors in Manitoba with brown hair". I would hazard a guess that if the categories were reduced to 2 or 3 forums: Private Pilots, Commercial fixed wing, and Heli that there would appear to be significantly more posts. I like the idea of many categories, but until the forum becomes an international meeting place a la PPruNe, there just isn't the traffic to support that format.