I don't know where else to put this thread, I wasn't sure that it would get the right kind of attention in General Mayhem. These are some sort of pessimistic and sobering questions I have.
My main question is: "How many Belegarth realms are thriving?"
By "thriving" I mean:
-A realm with a large amount of active members
-Regularly gaining new recruits to the point of maintaining membership levels (not in decline) or in growth.
-With ample leadership, so that even when the current leadership leave the realm will continue to at least exist for another 5 years or so.
Which leads me to ask: "What percentage of realms could be called struggling realms?"
By "struggling" I mean:
-Low regular membership
-Difficulty maintaining membership levels or growth
-Little to no upcoming leadership (realm will likely flounder and die when current leader moves on)
-These realms my be new startups with a future or long established realms realms
Which makes me ask: "How many realms are in decline?"
By "in decline" I mean:
-Decreasing membership, ether no new recruits or not enough to replace turnover.
-Possibly no leadership
I suppose that could lead to the question: "What is the realm turnover rate?" we all know that fighter turnover is fairly high, but what about realms? How long to they usually last? What makes the big ones last longer?
Part of the reason I have been asking this is I have been wondering if there might be a better model four my local aria than the traditional local realm model. I would love to hear even your speculative thoughts.