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Thank you for your thoughts. Very much appreciated.
I totally agree, @steevc, unfortunately there needs to be a little housekeeping done before we embark upon anything of that ilk. Given the functionality of the platform at present (very much like wordpress - with no disrespect to wordpress!) I think there is a shortage of "cool" and an oversupply of satellite sites. Front-end unification appears obvious and a concerted effort to allow a better filtration beyond tagging - leading to the possibility of groups and/or micro-communities. The drop in activity does at least make the platform less overwhelming in filleting off the kaka!
Have a great Easter weekend! Thank you again.

Communities could be the next big change. We need to make sure that gets media coverage when it happens. A few tweaks to the UI could help to make it seem more like the modern web