I'll start off by saying that I didn't change my sig, or post links or anything on Trailvoy to the new site... Yes, I am on GMTN, but I'm hocking metal for these things, so why wouldn't I be everywhere the audience is?
I think the case in point (or one of them) about the site not getting updated is, the fact that the latest tech how-to article was posted in 2008... I know I've personally been trying to get a brake controller install, that I took the time to document and write up, posted since right before VS purchased the site... I've contacted the mods about it, and they said that there were several articles they were trying to get posted, but they don't have that ability since VS took over, and that I should contact the Admin account on here to check progress... I sent a couple messages about getting it posted to the Admin account (1 per year), and never heard anything back, as far as I recall... I finally just made it a PDF and had a motorcycle buddy post it on his server, so people could at least download it...
I don't find the current amount of ads objectionable, but the ads right up until the GMTN grand opening and everybody jumping ship were really over the top... The large Google ad down the side bar (below the site vendors), the large ad between the user bar at the top and the forum posts, the pop-up ad for a bit, and last but CERTAINLY not least, the Jag ad that scrollled with you, and stayed at the bottom of the screen... These ads were not only intrusive, but sometimes hung up, and would stop the pages from loading, making the site almost un-surfable... There were a few threads on this in the "site suggestions" forum, but then there were more ads added...
I'll ad a story (pun intended), that may or may not mean anything to anybody... I'm an Engineer, but my grandfather was a farmer, and I spent a lot of time down there as a kid. Farming is a lot of give and take. In order to keep the mineral levels in the ground, and to keep the ground fertile, you have to alternate between corn, wheat, and beans... One of the 3 yields a higher $/acre, but you have to give back to the ground by planting the other 2, as well, to keep the minerals balanced. There were large farming operations that would buy up any land anybody was selling, farm just the higher $/acre crop, then sell it when it had turned to shat. This is referred to as "raping the land," and is generally frowned upon by real farmers. Draw any parallels you wish.
Mike