I can't see it anymore of course, but Xenforo has a thingamawhat in the admin control panel where it actually graphs forum traffic, and you can use it to chart other things too, like number of new member registrations, profile posts, likes being given, etc. Last I was able to check, all of that, including traffic, has consistently been on the rise since the switch to Xenforo in July, which is the opposite of how traffic historically and naturally tends to go here; usually it's busiest during the summer, and slower after the season is over. I've noticed that threads are growing much faster lately too, so much so that I can't really keep up.
Since muir has been brought up (again), I can't speak for the staff decision to ban since that was before I joined staff, but I know it was not an easy decision to make and followed many warnings and infractions. It is true that he has been banned from other forums as well. He joined a different MBTI forum just this year, and was banned after only 1 month, whereas he lasted for years here. His ban has also been discussed to death here already. I had some good interactions with the guy, but at this point we are long past moving forward.
This forum is also far less regulated and far more under-staffed than the vast majority of other forums I've frequented. Every single warning or infraction is decided upon as a group, and then one member of staff volunteers to give the infraction, after the group has decided. Typically who gives this gets rotated so it's not just one member of staff giving out the majority of infractions, since when members get infracted they can mistakenly think it's personal even though staff acts as a group, and take it out on the member of staff giving the infraction. That way the flak gets more evenly distributed amongst staff (one member once got so angry at the staff member who gave his infraction, he posted about a dozen times on her blog screaming at her in caps lock, cussing, spewing insults and vitriol, and then also posted a few similar things on her profile). Such things can make it difficult to stay on staff, which is one of the reasons why so many have stepped down and retired. I respect the staff for what they do, and I've seen them on many occasions not only act as staff, but as great human beings to members when they were in a crisis and needed help and support.
There are plenty of amazing members here, and amazing members who have left. I respect both the decision to stay, and the decision to leave, as life is complicated and as I've stated elsewhere on here recently, can take us in a different direction. I am still getting to know the recent influx of new members, but so far they have been wonderful, and I am glad that I've been able to get to know them.
