I was gone out of the hobby completely for a little over a decade myself. Came back in late 2022 or so and, like you, everything was different. A lot of the old names were gone. Darklord Dave was gone. My accumulated SSC points were gone. The forum had a name change. Etc, etc. Was told DD sold the site and this forum disaffiliated with SSC in total. No more Chicky, no more SSC Susan, no more board contests, etc, etc. Spooktacular has changed. Many of the dealers from back then are now gone too.
As for supporting memberships, I did it for 2023 for a full year. I decided to opt out of 2024 based on what would happen with a commerce situation I saw that impacted the entire community. But as that resolved, I'm probably open to it again in 2025. There was a half off pricing on a Black Friday for the memberships in late 2022 IIRC. I don't know if that's a consistent thing. From a marketing standpoint, if there was a flat 99 dollar pricing for a lifetime supporting membership, at least once a year ( Again, probably a Black Friday thing) for legacy members ( i.e. been here longer than 10 years or 15 years, a clear participating member, actual accrued good trade feedback, etc) , then I think more people would do it. Given where the economy is heading and how hard many people are hit with inflation/cost of living, and it doesn't look like much relief in in sight, the current pricing might be too much of a push for many people. Instead of three people who give a hard absolute no at 250 lifetime respectively, you might get three people willing to do 99 lifetime a piece, etc, etc. (The mind just processes it differently once it's less than a hundred dollars IMHO) Put it this way, this Black Friday in 8 months or so, if I was offered 99 dollars flat for a lifetime membership, as a forum legacy that participates, I'd probably do it. But that's just me.
Something that I used to say back in the old days at OSW, and it was also said many times by the original site owner there, was that if you were unhappy with posts, topics, participation, culture, tone, etc, etc, that you were seeing, then the best option was to start creating thread topics and participating in a way and manner in which you'd like to see others post. I.E. don't tell others what to post or not post if they are posting within the rules, but set an example. If something ugly happened in the general discussion area and 20 people reacted by starting 5 thread topics each, well supported, on something good and/or interesting about the hobby, think about the total impact. 100 threads, devoted to simply what's best about this hobby. Because if you love the toys, nothing else matters.
I wasn't a prolific poster through volume in the old days. I'm not one now. But I'm supporting two larger thread topics, one in the Military section and one in the Film/TV section, with consistent updates. So it's not just me saying something to you about what folks should consider, and then be caught not doing it myself. I'm doing it now, so I feel comfortable saying it out loud, that everything is an opportunity. Things are what we make of them.
I started into 1/6th back in 1992 or so. I'm forever grateful that I got in the ground floor, that I got to be part of "The Golden Age" of 1/6th, got to see SSC when it was a much different and more fan friendly company, got a lot of product before the price explosions, got to go to major shows when that was simply more viable for folks, and got to meet and learn from a lot of really good people over the years. There are some great people in this hobby, that have enriched the entire experience, and I'll always be appreciative of that.
Every hobby has a "life cycle" What we all got here was much longer than most niche hobbies. I'd say we've got maybe a quarter left, with some clear aspects of a decline phase. There are fewer people, fewer surviving dealers and a lot of people are just out of space or priced out. Some are old enough now to have exited their prime earning years. Since I've been back, I've seen two names I do remember from the old days and also OSW pass away. I'm sure more have died in the decade I was gone. This last bit of mile can be whatever we make of it. I can't change the trajectory of how life cycles work. But I can support two long running thread topics with effort. That's my act of "faith" here. You can choose to do the same. If all the legacy folks did that, just kept up consistent support of two thread topics they started, the total forum impact IMHO would be staggering.
I remember your screen name from the old days. I wish you the best in and out of this hobby, no matter what you choose. Good luck.
