The site as a whole has slowed down. Been slowing down for years. Around 2013 the site seemed to peak and since then it's been slowly declining.
One factor seems to be how vicious some people are. I've seen many people quit the site after a short time due to this. It used to be primarily in the BDF, but it's spread to the News forum now, as well.
Another is not many seem to sign up intending to stay. There's been an increase in single post users that ask a question and never return.
Or people joining looking for a chat room and quitting when they learn there isn't one.
Also joining looking for one specific thing and if its not readily available, they leave. We see this a lot in Singles forum.
As well as some forums not often being used at all, and many that post in them don't fit the theme. Arab, Philippine, Teen and Young Adults in particular.
And when the chats were up they had a bad reputation due to a few people running the rooms and banning people left and right. Some for simply disagreeing with them and others had no clue why they were banned. Despite many complaints in the playstore nothing was ever done and it continued.
Mods also seem less invested, as does the owner. They seem to have stopped enforcing some things that they used to and given up. Not a great feeling as a user.
Suggestions forum, once intended for suggestions to improve the site, has been allowed to be another Misc forum, basically. And when suggestions are made there's rarely any official response, which puts it on the user's to step in. Sometimes with wrong information because changes were made and no one was told. So a lack of communication.
People paying and looking for live chats only to find they don't exist anymore.
Some don't like paying then getting an email asking for donations for the site. Or not seeing how the donations are put towards the site other than keeping it going.
So plenty of reasons for the site to slow down over the years.
And those are the kinds of things I've seen others say over the years, which has gone up as activity has gone down.