>>149797748I was there, they weren't massively active, certianly not like other popular shows at the time.
It was also different because Gumball was new back then and the direction was hard to determine. It's very established now and fully balls to the wall. It makes discussion even harder. S2/S3 still had plot elements sprinkled. The later seasons weren't as strong in that regard, even the episodes that did move plot forward were weaker or felt rushed.
Also a major factor is the release schedule. Releasing 20 episodes at once is just a killer for discussion forums because there's just too much to go through and everyone goes at their own pace.
I've always felt shows are better released weekly but that's just me.
The drawfags thing is fair, but that's also because drawfags are better served posting to X or whatever now so they're not here as much anymore doing it for free when they can build a following elsewhere.
The final thing is honestly, sites like 4chan are probably slowing down if anything. There are too many other places to discuss and the younger gen are more in tuned with them than they are the likes of this place. Even if you want to be an edgelord you can just do it on tiktok or x and never touch this place. Back before this was THE place to shitpost.