Hey All,
Wow....Amazed that I remembered my username and password!
I was never a frequent contributor here; but have been a member since 2006.
I read many of the comments here and some of them pretty well covered the reasons why this place may be somewhat of a ghost town community. Namely, there is just so much content available as well as avenues to share (Facebook- personal, pages, and groups, Instagram, Flickr, YouTube, for example) that it's information overload. There simply isn't enough hours in the day to peruse and participate in everything that's available at one's fingertips.
I first started getting on the internet around 2002, 2003, or 2004. Back then, the Origami Mailing List was very active. This place was a great resource. There were a limited number of websites. I ran what I believe was one of the first origami blogs (Have Paper, Will Travel).
That blog now runs on life support. Message Boards like this one seem to be in decline, in general (although maybe I'm wrong). The "O-List" (or "Origami-L) mailing list is still useful and connects many of the major players in the community with one another, but hardly generates the kind of traffic I remember seeing back in the early 2000s. Before that, I believe origamists around the world mostly communicated through snail mail.
I used to buy up a lot a of books a decade ago. My thirst was insatiable. Now, there is almost a kind of oversaturation. I simply don't have the time and energy (and enough money and shelf space to store).
I can't keep up with perusing every single Flickr album from the many, many creators who have exploded onto the scene ever since Robert Lang published his Origami Design Secrets. At one time, I used to go through a number of new threads on this message board; check out every new YouTube video and channel; every new post on a blog. And then there are personal friends and professionals with FB pages and walls to comment on and like.
But it's now all too much. Information overload.
I don't see an origami community in decline. Origami has exploded in popularity and has seen a lot of growing attention.
What's changed is how we all interact and communicate and where.
I still have a Flickr account but let my pro membership expire and due to their most recent changes in terms and agreements and limitations on the number of photos for non-pro accounts, I've all but stopped using it.
I have origami cartoons that are scheduled for the next 4 years to auto-post every Sunday on my blogsite. I post there whenever I have the free time, interest, and energy for it. Otherwise, all you see are the cartoons each week.
Anyway, this place is still a great resource. I'm glad it hasn't disappeared into the cyber ethers.
Thank you to all who keep this place active and alive.
michael
http://havepaperwilltravel.blogspot.com/
P.S. I've had my comments deleted by Mariano as well. I think it's sad and unethical how he profits off ad revenues on his YouTube videos through publishing video tutorials without permission from the original designers while not bothering to share his own original designs through the same.