I think forums are now a less extensive means of communication with a smaller community. There is still a vast majority that use them but mainly to exchange information or seek advice on content related to the forum(s) themselves. A lot of people seem to enjoy the anonymity. Whereas, with current technology, some crowds have moved the same content, conversations and community to more intimate platforms. With VR hangouts, visual and audio chatting/calls, mobile friendly chatrooms- group texting that lets you quickly share images, videos and links. A great advantage is screen-sharing, where communities enjoy music, movies and shows in real-time with one another. I suppose it's one of those things that inevitably become dated and less frequently utilized.
Funny thing, social giants usually burn themselves out while the retro corners of the web have been hanging in there. I still remember when IM was a massive thing, how MySpace was once Facebook-etc. Yet there's always been an audience for forums and forums tailored to audiences. AF on its own is pretty unique. Mobile friendly/easy access, image gallery, self converting links, easy media insert that doesn't require a string of code, saved text; in case you accidentally click away when commenting. There's a lot to love on this forum!
I personally think there's a myriad of reasons why forums see more traffic than others, why there are dips and spikes. You'd be pulling hairs trying to effectivly gauge solutions. I've seen some wonderful members put their hearts into creating thoughtful, elaborate content and it hardly gets any attention. I suppose you'd need to look into the community itself. Age groups, what type of discussions generate circulation, how many artists are among the active. That sort of thing.
I've talked with a few members here that had additional time to spare when the pandemic was around and are now staggering on the upkeep. In my experience, I can see how that effects communication and the flow of discussion. I'll be sitting during lunch break to engage with a topic. Usually there's distraction or people coming to talk to me and I end up cutting my comments short, maybe not too enticing to respond to. Definetly not as in-depth as I would have liked. This is probably where platforms with video/audio chat calls come in handy. You don't need to type away at something that can be said or addressed in a shorter time.
That said, I do enjoy forums and I absolutely love AF! It's great to have an open conversation about the perseverance of the site. In this case, sacrificing a virtual lamb to our overseer, Optic. That they never decide to shut the forum down.