Are things slower around here?

[Chris2Balls [:B]]

I think the major problems are:

1) All of the skilled users are busy.
2) The users who seem to want to get better at art do not display the proper drive or discipline to do so, and they do not do the things necessary to become a good artist. There isn't much content posted, and the quality of said content is not great. Regular users post something once every few months at best.

And the consequences of these basically lead to

1) Nobody is inspiring others or showing them the benefits of studying art. C+C is not being given at a good pace or with good depth. Art resources are not being shared, leaving the userbase generally ignorant.
2) The culture on the forum is seriously lazy. People don't seem to understand what steps you must take to become a good artist. The less hostile environment the forum has cultivated is more pleasant and comfortable to be in, but it has made the userbase utterly complacent and disinterested in getting their butts in gear. People seem content with their mediocrity, and only get the urge to do art on a rare basis.

Most importantly, this leads me to the conclusion that...

...adding more new members isn't going to be enough. It would be great, yes, but getting them to come is pointless if you do not give them a reason to stay or to contribute. We need content. New people aren't going to make it for us with this environment.

My impression is that there simply aren't that many users who treat their art seriously. As such their motivation/will isn't very strong so they tend to give up and go away. I haven't seen much passion for art on the forum this past year and a half. Besides, those who are serious on the art will look elsewhere for more relevance and attention.

I suggest we take a step back and look at today - we've talked about social media and about specific people who've come and gone on the forum. What about videogames, though? How have they changed in the space of five years, how does that impact the nature of the assets we rip, and how has it determined the kind of users who frequent this forum now?

So my question is: can we do something with all these sprites and spritesheets we're archiving? How can we stand out from other forums when it comes to creativity?
How can we creatively use this resource?