Having become a bit more active on the forum recently, I have seen references to the many old timers who are no longer contributing . I do not want to tread on any toes, open any old wounds or indeed undervalue the input of the current members who have provided much interesting and useful information. It's just that when I do searches l see frequent contributions from names that you just don't see any more.
I am wondering where did they go and was there one reason they all left?

They got tired of being asked;

What is your favorite fig?
If you had to pick only one fig what would it be?
Name the top ____ black or green, or yellow fig.
What is wrong with the leaves on my fig tree?
People not doing the basic searches before asking a question, there's not a lot of original questions, just new people asking the same old questions.
Etc, etc, etc., ad nauseum 

People find out that it is a lot of work taking care of a lot of figs.

People find out that the $100 they paid for the current "Fad" fig is now only worth $10.

And of course it is like a lot of hobbies people get in , they get out, moving on to the next shiny object.

OBTW - I posted a similar question under the topic  "Where have all the flowers gone" Posted 06/10/16

I'm still here. I'm just more active on Facebook via my page and other fig groups. I find it easier to post photos and communicating with others.

Danny nailed it. 

Maybe there could be an easier, standardized way to answer these questions (e.g., see FAQ #4).

I would add one other comment.  If you are a fairly dedicated hobbyist, you quickly answer the basic questions.  Your attention (or at least mine) turns to more esoteric issues, such as whether I need to supplement with Silicon or root prune more frequently.  The old timers have moved on to other issues.  

Count me as an old timer when you do not find me here shortly after :-) .

I do think that people hop from one hobby to another when the old one does not excite/motivate them enough...But in general, if people list gardening as their hobby, fig is only one of the many categories under gardening.  They may not be too attached to any particular species or simply do not have the energy to get into the many cultivars, unless they are collectors.   

If one just wants to dab into fig gardening for some specific info, he can usually google them and then move on.  However, if one has certain financial interests in this hobby, then he/she can become a long timer.  That is actually beneficial to the forum.   

Migration to other fig groups. More options than before. Most left as they are not happy
with the moderator over some "contentious" writings. Anyway, it's a hobby for me.

I've seen that some people have moved homes and had to leave or give up plants. Also changing obligations at work or with growing families can cause interest in fig collections to decrease.

There are lots of members with patience that enjoy answering questions so I don't think newbies asking very basic questions is a problem.

Eventually all learn to use the search function and then get access to a very rich database of fig information.  Then they ask more advanced questions that everyone learns from.  In the process many people get connected and fig collections expand.

Some old timers left bc fading interest due to life's journey or after they achieved their fig collection goals.
Another reason is when some disagree with a point of view they can get rude and this offends some people and so they chose the other forum with moderators.

For me I think we are all adults here and I am not offended by the odd colourful adjective that doesn't get too bad.  This forum has enough knowledgeable members that are not shy and misinformation gets corrected very fast.  
So I like this place and do most of my postings here.  Wish I had more time for the other forums and facebook but I can only visit them when time allows.

All the fig forums are doing a great job of bringing fig grower enthusiast together and advancing ficus carica knowledge!

I believe in " it's a hobby" , let no one spoil my day + there are enough better things to
do. Besides, this forum belongs to Jon & he can do want he wants & at his own time.

Thanks again for all the replies, they have provided lots of detail and answered my question.
I was really just curious if there was a particular controversy that caused a lot of people to depart en masse. It looks that wasn't the case apart from Pino's mention of an active moderation disagreement.

Facebook has a lot of the old timers and plenty of newbies. I would suggest joining either my fb page (California Figs group) ,Rafeds fig group or Vineeths European figs group.

Well that didn't take long, it seems that you can do quite a lot to keep personal information private, so thanks again for the info brianm.

Yeah I do a lot of financial stuff on my computer, so you'll never see me on Facebook. Plus I find it way too intrusive. How could you possibly be bored with peaches? So many different types and taste ranges. Nectarines are even better. Probably my favorite fruit. Raspberries too, like to breed my own peach and raspberry cultivars. Something I can't really do with figs.

John as per your question;  
Although much less than before I still see quite a few of the old guys on the gardenweb forum;  http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/fig

John... don't take things about the ability to supposedly keep personal information private on FB at "FACE" value... In reality, FB is one of the biggest culprits of what I consider to be abusive data mining.... I know that there are many sites that now do it but FB pioneered snooping on your multiple browsing sessions within the same browser space to track where you were going and what you were doing... all without any specific approvals from you.... They are at the forefront of most technologies that help them to drive their profit margin at the expense of personal privacy. I use FB but I take steps to limit their data mining haul. Lock them down using their tools and then locking them down using your own best practices is the only way to prevent your life from being an open book subject to their monitoring... Am not suggesting that most people have anything to hide but personal privacy is a core right and I hate to see any entity abuse that right for their own corporate gain...