> Is the advance theme announcement making things predictable?
No.
> Has real life got in the way, and was that temporary or expected to continue like this?
Yes. Between this entry the last one I did, I wrote and published 100 000k words of fanfiction. Sue me, I fell in the deep end of Star Wars. Unlike here, my wips in fanfiction have active subscribers expecting a posting schedule, so every last minute of the day I spend on writing I spent on forwarding these stories. I'm still not even done with the first one I started in October. I can't promise I'll return to being a regular.
> Do you, writers, like to have it running.
Definitely. If it weren't there, I would lose the only place I ever wrote original fiction for. But I can't expect you to keep something going for my convenience.
> Should we stop votes
A better option would be a return of the publication on the website. What does the challenge offer to a writer joining today? No significant effect from winning, no concrit, at least not on the scale of what use to be there in the olden days... I feel like there was a goal (to win) and a benefit (to get good feedback), but with both more or less gone, it is not too motivating.
> is it finally time to accept that it's basically dead and we should pack it up?
I don't know. I don't participate often enough that my opinion should matter that much, I think. Is it a pain to maintain? Then maybe yes. Is it effortless? Then maybe keep it running? I'd love to be able to come and go and drop in on short notice. But I can't promise I'll be here every month, so, again, probably not my call.
