I think you're correct here. In the three years I've been on this site, it is essentially irrelevant to the broader societal discussions going on. But those of us here do exist (aside from the massive number of trolls - like everywhere on the internet - there are a small number of actual recognizable people on here), and nuggets of useful information keep on popping up regularly. We're basically irrelevant, but at the same time, we haven't gone away, either. The views here maintain our very tenuous toehold within the societal map.