I know this question isn't geared toward me, but I'd like to take the liberty to respond. I've noticed that activity has slowed down too. A reason may be because some people have been criss crossing the globe, getting married, building new wikis or whatever else.
From your question I think you are basing the lack of a lively community on an slow down of an "application development", which I interpret to mean the technical aspects of the site.
Here, on Crossroads, the issue is not the technical aspects. Crossroads is a user friendly site, though a few additional features would be nice. As a member of the community and one that is likely to use the site from the consumer's perspective, meaning for enjoyment only, I don't see a problem with how the site is operating. The issue is where's the info about this site!? No one is going to magically discover this place. A quick Google search only shows results for Crossroads when I type "Crossroads World66", but how likely is it that anyone not connected with the site already will search for the magic string that produces results?
If we get some interwiki links going from Wikitravel, or W66, or the new site that you mention then traffic will increase and with that the community will grow and community interaction will increase in the long run.
IB has some power in the business world so it'd be wise to release a press release and send it out to several traveler oriented media outlets. Maybe you, if you have connections could suggest such a thing, or Evan could develop interwiki links and we'll link to Xroads from WT.
In short, from the consumer's perspective I think it'd be too early to give up on the site. Once the site begins to be advertised the community will grow and community interaction will grow. By the way, the most important thing for a community to sustain itself is interaction, so when you note that there have been some "interesting intercultural exchanges" I think that observation is an indication of Crossroads potential.
Sapphire
I know this question isn't
I know this question isn't geared toward me, but I'd like to take the liberty to respond. I've noticed that activity has slowed down too. A reason may be because some people have been criss crossing the globe, getting married, building new wikis or whatever else.
From your question I think you are basing the lack of a lively community on an slow down of an "application development", which I interpret to mean the technical aspects of the site.
Here, on Crossroads, the issue is not the technical aspects. Crossroads is a user friendly site, though a few additional features would be nice. As a member of the community and one that is likely to use the site from the consumer's perspective, meaning for enjoyment only, I don't see a problem with how the site is operating. The issue is where's the info about this site!? No one is going to magically discover this place. A quick Google search only shows results for Crossroads when I type "Crossroads World66", but how likely is it that anyone not connected with the site already will search for the magic string that produces results?
If we get some interwiki links going from Wikitravel, or W66, or the new site that you mention then traffic will increase and with that the community will grow and community interaction will increase in the long run.
IB has some power in the business world so it'd be wise to release a press release and send it out to several traveler oriented media outlets. Maybe you, if you have connections could suggest such a thing, or Evan could develop interwiki links and we'll link to Xroads from WT.
In short, from the consumer's perspective I think it'd be too early to give up on the site. Once the site begins to be advertised the community will grow and community interaction will grow. By the way, the most important thing for a community to sustain itself is interaction, so when you note that there have been some "interesting intercultural exchanges" I think that observation is an indication of Crossroads potential.