Whilst I suspect you may be exaggerating ever so slightly
Consider your point taken...the place seems to be going through another malaise. A quick perusal of this afternoon's offerings suggests nobody's feeling particularly inspired today.
(LongJohnBaldry, Mon 14 Mar 2011, 17:00, 2 replies, latest was 15 years ago)

Monday innit
*shrugs* nobody has to come here.

How's your thesis going mister?
(berk, Mon 14 Mar 2011, 17:01, Reply)

Admittedly the 'T' word is the reason I've tried to cut down on posting here
And...erm...very slowly. Rather hoping to have "a result" by the end of the month though, so I can tie up the loose ends after that and just ensconce myself in my flat for a month or two to just write. We'll have to see.
(LongJohnBaldry, Mon 14 Mar 2011, 17:06, Reply)

I had guessed it was the reason for your absence
however slow progress is still progress and that's good, right?
(berk, Mon 14 Mar 2011, 17:07, Reply)

'tis indeed. At least I hope so.
Think I made a little discovery on Friday so I've spent most of today struggling with the motivation to test it properly. I may just be wandering into another dead end but at least I think this might lead somewhere.

Still, how have your applications been going?
(LongJohnBaldry, Mon 14 Mar 2011, 17:11, Reply)

Like a big old bag of shit quite frankly
got turned down for two places in the last two days; only application still in is Oxford, and lets face it, I've already fucked that up once, I'm never going to get a second interview.
No PhD for me, it seems.
(berk, Mon 14 Mar 2011, 17:31, Reply)

Bugger...I'm sorry to hear it.
Well, I hope in spite of your pessimistic assessment that Oxford at least get back to you with another interview...otherwise I hope the backup plan turns up something good come September. (Have you spotted anything more interesting you could drift into?)
(LongJohnBaldry, Mon 14 Mar 2011, 17:39, Reply)

I'm not really sure at the moment
my current plan seems to be to move to London and bully some unsuspecting PI in to letting me do an MPhil. I like the field I'm in and would prefer to stay in a vaguely related area.
(berk, Mon 14 Mar 2011, 18:02, Reply)

You won't be able to bully Magnum.

( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Mon 14 Mar 2011, 18:05, Reply)

It's been shit today

( Labia Majora You keep on talking but it makes no sense at all, Mon 14 Mar 2011, 17:02, Reply)

I put it to you
that it's because I've not been on here much.
( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Mon 14 Mar 2011, 17:02, Reply)

I put it to you
That that wouldn't make a jot of difference.
( Labia Majora You keep on talking but it makes no sense at all, Mon 14 Mar 2011, 17:03, Reply)

Have you got a st stammer?

( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Mon 14 Mar 2011, 17:07, Reply)

it's been I'm today
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Mon 14 Mar 2011, 17:02, Reply)

Eh

( Labia Majora You keep on talking but it makes no sense at all, Mon 14 Mar 2011, 17:04, Reply)

I was saying you are shit

( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Mon 14 Mar 2011, 17:05, Reply)

I understood
Hence no question mark.
( Labia Majora You keep on talking but it makes no sense at all, Mon 14 Mar 2011, 17:06, Reply)