Just to mention that, regarding the charts, the last data point is partial as we know, since it currently covers half way through the current month. Since the Merit Sources have recently been increased in quantity and allowance per 30 days, those trailing numbers may lift a bit over the next month or two at least.
That’s from an objective numerical stand. Having said that, disregarding this current month, the trend is on a slow downward trend in terms of Meriters and Merited, thus the Merit Source changes may liven up the figures somewhat (which I figure is the aim).
From a personal perspective, I do not seem to be encountering posts from newcomers that are as good as prior generations (i.e. years). You never know who’s really new on the forum and who pretends to be, but my overall perception is that of less decent posters, and not as good as before (no offence).
My Local board is really thin on new contributors, and when they do pop-up, it’s often to spam links, or post in Telegram style, but barely to engage in a longer standing relationship with the forum. Those that are the die-hard users there, tend to believe that SEO is a key factor in not receiving new savia, as the forum is difficult to come across on searches made in Spanish.
That’s why I mentioned the other day that a forum software change is not the golden nugget, lest it is accompanied by some strategy to take advantage of the change, and accompany it with strategic targets to achieve, laying the groundwork for the tactics to be used to comply. The forum is certainly a reference, but I believe it could be more so if it aligns with the new communication channels (not that I like them personally, but I get them), better linear information (not exactly an Academy, but certain learning areas), more visual (perhaps we should have pursued more positively and pushed @theymos’ idea to create a YouTube channel (ideally linked to the forum), SEO (ffs), etc. Ideally, pushing Bitcointalk as a reference brand for bitcoin(/crypto?) information into the mind of newer generations further that it currently does.