123hop:
"There are always slow times. Ebbs and flows."
FWIW:
For several years, the number of postings per month (on average) has been tapering off. I recall a couple of years ago, for the first time ever, the weekly total of postings fell beneath 200. Heated discussion around Occupy last fall gave a booster shot to LBO-talk. But the slumber of the last few weeks -- several weeks in a row of well less than 200 total messages -- is unprecedented, not just the normal ebb and flow. I largely (if not wholly) attribute it to the rise of other platforms for online communication (albeit more superficial communication), namely two well-known social media ones.
(I also sense that Doug is trying to pull back a little from on-line chatter altogether. I don't think he's the only one; a lot of us are recognizing that the allure of instant back-and-forth has interfered with the accomplishment of more substantial projects. Problem is, there's now a dearth of substantial material online to use as raw info for more substantial projects...)