The posting rate seems more lethargic than it was 10 years ago.
The forum is as active as its members. If you check some topics you will notice they are very active.
eg the recent NDC13 and LDC 62.
Post an interesting topic or add an interesting comment to an old topic and they could become one of the active topics.
It’s worth asking. As loyal as I feel to the forum, I have to say I’ve sometimes wondered the same thing.
Take a look at Google’s trend map for “lucid dreaming”. There’s a very sharp, Inception-induced, peak from 2010 (around when I joined) and a slow return to normal thereafter. So it’s not unique to LD4all: the world at large just isn’t as aware that lucid dreaming exists. There was once an episode of Star Trek: Voyager where it was treated as some arcane tribal thing that no one had ever heard of. That’s probably the baseline. I’ve never been a member at other places like Dreamviews or the Crossroads (I think it’s called), but I get the feeling their general topics are also quieter than when I first checked them out.
As moogle points out, the topic in question matters. Dream Journals are as active as ever, and the recent ND challenge generated more material than any of its predecessors. If you ask a good question about a specific technique, you can get some rigorous discussion going. But the truth is that lucid dreamers are amateurs by nature. We’re not researchers in academic journals, generating a noisy back-and-forth on every topic for its own sake and devotion of learning. When we get frustrated, we try something different or take a break. Some discussions on specific techniques have stalled simply because no one has really been able to push the boundaries any further.
Look at Dream Control, for example. We could discuss the mechanics of things like time dilation for generations to come. But the material just isn’t there to work with. Right now, not enough people can commit the discipline needed to reach the level where they can experiment with such advanced mechanics every night. With all the basic stuff covered over LD4all’s long history, some areas are just running out of things to talk about. MILD is pretty much perfected. There’s not much more for us to discuss: you just have to do the work!
The best we can do to improve this is to practise, experiment and discuss our findings. I guess old-timers like me need to resist the temptation to become forum warriors and keep pushing the boundaries in the dreamworld itself! But some new people are highly dedicated and enthusiastic, I’m sure it’s time for another upward trend. I’m wondering whether the progress of Virtual Reality techs will stimulate interest.
Some things, like CALD, seem completely dead (only mentioned 3 times this year on the entire forum, once by me). A shame, since the chats were fun to read, but I suppose methods will always be subject to selective survival over time. Anyone still do that one? I never did.
Your post hit a soft spot, DeRuyter001.
Life has changed as I grew older. So much of my time is now owned by other people. When I first discovered LD4all, I was in the process of quitting a job I hated and looking for a new one. There was so much adventure and possibility in real life that it was easy to get into the mindset of lucid dreaming.
The mood of the world seems to have changed. The majority of people used to believe that we were heading towards better times. Now, I have the feeling that most people believe the opposite. Maybe that makes it more difficult to put ourselves in the state of complete freedom and privacy that lucid dreaming is.
Lucid dreaming used to feel like magic. Not in a bad way. I know it is as natural and harmless as sleeping. It felt like there was a while new, undiscovered world to explore at night. Now that sleep is a very limited resource (We just had a baby) and I have to be constantly aware of somebody else, even while I sleep, it has become so much harder to cross that line. People in general spend more time connected to others through various online media. There is very little true alone time for anyone.
I don’t believe that the magic is gone. It has just become harder to reach for and easier to be distracted from. Maybe it is now we need places like LD4all more than ever.
Yes, a soft spot…
I notice the same thing on the Dutch LD4all forum, less and less people posting there.
Ah, I did not know, good to see the perspective here
I’m sure it’s time for another upward trend!
Based on gut feeling 
Lots of stuff that requires my time in waking life and affects my sleep, thus I’m less active here than what I would like.
A lot of what people here are saying resonates with me. I used to update my dream journal every day, but life has kept me so busy I haven’t been that active for a long time (I still float around to read 
but oh how I wish I had the time to write on here more). I’m sure Lucid Dreaming will trend back up again. Thanks to Inception, awareness about Lucid Dreaming was certainly given a boost. I’m sure something else will come along to bring up the subject once more. In the meantime, it’s always nice to see the entries that active users are able to post and update! ^^
Plus the wealth of old topics and discussions that are available to be browsed and read.
a lot of this resonates with me too, especially Siiw’s post.
theres an aspect of lucid dreaming that sometimes feels almost selfish, spending time and energy emptying your mind of other worries to focus on being aware and focusing on your own experience. lately there is a lot going on in the world that pulls on the mind and on the sense of responsibility outside the self, and thats in addition to the general greater responsibilities that have come with age.
my mind is no longer my own, all territory is colonized.
i am also hopeful for an upturn in public awareness and engagement with lucid dreaming soon! it might be just what we need.
This. Exactly this.
I believe this isn’t good for mental health. This is something I want to actively fight. This is where lucid dreaming comes in. Even writing down dreams help, it makes us remember our most private time.