The community has been growing consistently over time, and we are currently the largest LGBT discussion community on the web (as far as we know at present.) Our current growth may be limited somewhat by our ancient forum software which isn't very mobile-friendly, but that should be changing fairly soon as we switch to a more modern platform.
I notice the same thing. I don't really like it, but I guess it depends on the amount of people on this site.
From experience, that depends on a variety of things. Some threads are replied to faster because they are easier to answer. Some sub-forums are more popular and hence active. It also depends on the time of day when you posted, or even time of year, because many members here are students. Last, it depends on what you mean by "fast." If by posting a thread an expecting an answer in half an hour, then that is unlikely. It usually takes a day or two with usual traffic to get answers.
Like Kodo said, it depends on time of day as well as time of year. Empty Closets is an international accessible site, so time zones also play a huge role in when your thread gets a response. It's also important to remember that people don't have to be logged in to read the threads, so the "views" doesn't mean members only. The subject matter is also a huge factor in if and/or when you get a response. We're all just regular people here, and some of us may be struggling with the same thing, and therefore feel that we are unqualified to respond to a thread. So what I've personally learned is to be patient. This forum does go through stages of inactivity, because not all the members are constantly online. It's best to check in again in a few minutes and see if any new threads were created, or if existing threads received a new response. All in all, this forum is wonderful, and as it states, it's a safe online community! :smilewave