I'm totally with you on this one. I haven't been here long, but I was with TNL forums for a while, and the same thing has pretty-much happened there.
Fact is, forums do die. It's unfortunate when a good one does, but not much can be done about it. Might I suggest trying to start a community of your own? If you came here less you'd have a bit more free time to do it in. Just a thought.