I’ll speak up in favor of the new format :)
When I first found Matt’s site a few years ago, I had to really push myself to get through all the comments on the blog articles to get some of the gems of info I was looking for. It was a time and energy drain for sure, and I never felt comfortable participating in the voices that seemed so familiar with each other already (I’m introverted even online) So I really appreciated the move to the forums with the hope that it would be more accessible, and in some ways, I think it is. It’s very helpful to have easily identifiably threads for topics, though it doesn’t always seem to matter when you go and see that someone has posted a question months ago that no one answered.
So I see the point about it not really working because there isn’t enough energy pumping through the conversations anymore, but in theory I wish it could work out. I’m not on Facebook anymore either, but I get that it’s easier for some people than coming here. And there is certainly the misconception/false advertising that you will get some “expert” advice here. Not that I don’t think I’ve seen that…the moderators and certain participants have done a great job of trying to help people as much as they can, but I think people come here expecting something more, and don’t come back when they are ignored (or told what to do ;) Just a bummer I guess.